


garlic cloves

by sad_goomy



Series: garlic cloves AU [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Aliens, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Banter, Developing Friendships, F/M, Genre Savvy, Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Lots of cameos not listed in characters bc.....it's A Lot, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Monster of the Week, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Non-Graphic Violence, Prophetic Dreams, Roommates, Sexual Tension, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Character Death, Villain Character Death, assholes to lovers, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-08 18:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 147,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20840237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_goomy/pseuds/sad_goomy
Summary: All Moon ever wanted was to live a normal life as a relative nobody, but that’s just about impossible when she’s one of the Chosen.Add in an annoying younger brother, a witch, a druid, and a vampire that’s now her roommate, and she’s ready to drive a stake through herself at this point.





	1. high stakes

[[♪ Call Me - Blondie ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykf2xYPNdc)

“Is this the Slayer?” 

Moon blinks, head still foggy from sleep. She checks the caller ID and sure enough, someone’s calling her from Sun’s phone at four in the morning. Stifling a yawn, she sits up in bed and rubs her eyes, fighting the urge to simply hang up and go back to sleep. “Who’s asking?” 

She hasn’t been called that title in a very long time, and it’s been a while since she’s received a vague threat over the phone. The mysterious voice on the other end of the line disregards her question, though, and instead says, “If you ever want to see your brother again, come to the shopping center on Melemele.” 

She frowns, realizing that there’s an evil force holding her younger brother hostage, one who will probably wage a fight in which the balance of good and evil will be at stake. 

“Keep him.” 

And she hangs up, falling back on her bed with a loud groan. For a moment, she seriously considers going back to sleep, because she technically isn’t a Slayer anymore and she _ does _ have work in a few hours. 

But she knows her mom would kill her if anything happened to Sun, and that would make Thanksgiving awkward, so she stands and walks to her dresser, muttering four-letter words under her breath. She opens the bottom drawer and takes out the metal box that she swears she’ll throw out tomorrow. 

Opening it, Moon sighs as she looks at the vials of holy water and silver trinkets, eventually settling on taking out one of the wooden stakes. 

"Damn it, Sun.” 

* * *

Somehow, this isn’t the worst situation Sun has found himself in. 

Sure, he’s tied to a folding chair in Melemele’s only mall, watching his captor, a vampire, pace across the stage used for events. And yes, the phone call with his sister was alarmingly short and definitely didn’t seem to involve any promises of actually coming. 

But it’s not as bad as the gym incident in high school. 

The vampire stops his pacing, instead deciding to lean against the wall with crossed arms and stare blankly ahead with sharp green eyes. At least, Sun assumes he has two eyes; the choppy haircut covers nearly half his face. Besides the initial kidnapping and ensuing interrogation in which Sun was all too happy to drop the fact that his older sister is a Slayer, the vampire hasn’t spoken to him. He seems content to wait in silence, though as the minutes tick by he grows increasingly frustrated. 

Sun looks around the room, also frustrated, but with just how boring this is all turning out to be – for a life-threatening situation, there’s a lot more waiting involved than he’s used to. 

“So,” he drawls, catching the vampire’s attention. “Come here often?” 

His captor arches an eyebrow. “Are you seriously trying to make small talk?” 

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugs, looking around the room and confirming that there really is nothing for him to try and amuse himself with in this empty mall. “We’re gonna be here a while, what with travel time, and we haven’t really gotten a chance to chat.” 

The vampire scowls, taking a few steps forward as he snaps, “Is your entire family this nonchalant?” 

“On my mom’s side.” Sun smirks, adding, “Besides, this isn’t exactly my first hostage situation. Granted, taking me to the mall is an interesting move-” 

“It_ isn’t?” _

There’s genuine surprise, mixed with horrified fascination, in the vampire’s voice. Sun grins. “Well, it’s always a little embarrassing to share my number, but we’re up to thirteen now.” The blond scoffs at him, and Sun notices the curtains of the wings are moving a little. He sits back, continuing, “You never forget your first, though. Oh man, I was fourteen and so naïve - ‘course I’ve learned a thing or two since then.” 

Looking absolutely unconvinced, the vampire drawls, “Such as?” 

The curtains stop moving. Sun smirks, leaning forward with an impish spark in his eyes. The vampire seems to notice his shift in energy and stiffens, only able to pick up on the sound and scent a second too late. 

“Such as ‘keep the bad guys distracted so your sister can ambush them.’” 

And when the vampire turns, he’s greeted with a roundhouse kick to the face before being pinned to the stage by a woman half his size. Her silver eyes and black hair match her brother’s, but while he seemed thoroughly entertained by this situation, she looks nearly livid. Her freckles dance as she sneers. 

“You rang?” 

He struggles under her grip, realizing that the Slayer strength he’s heard about is no joke. With a quick jerk of his legs he manages to throw her off balance and turn the tables, though his pride is still bruised that she managed to get the jump on him (and in her pajamas, no less). “I’m not going to fight you,” he growls, managing to keep his hold on her. 

Moon stops struggling for a moment, and he’s about to continue when she narrows her eyes. “That makes my job easier.” 

One swift move of her leg later and he’s rolling off her, clutching at his groin as he bites back moans of pain. 

Sun winces at the sight. “Is kicking vampires in the balls a new technique, or...?” His sister’s glare silences him, and he’s not looking forward to the lecture she’ll deliver once she unties him. 

The vampire manages to open his eyes when he feels the point of a stake on his chest, right above where his no longer beating heart lies. She digs her knee into his solar plexus, keeping him pinned as she leans in. “Give me one good reason to not kill you.” 

He holds her stare, his face growing calm. “I didn’t kill your brother.” 

She barks a humorless laugh. “No, you just held him hostage, how thoughtful.” 

“I knew you wouldn’t talk to me otherwise.” 

They stare at each other, neither of them willing to flinch as Moon considers his answer. Deciding that he’s right, and that she’s not feeling particularly stab-y right now, she mutters, “Start talking.” 

“Alola needs a Slayer.” 

And just like that she’s feeling stab-y, raising the stake to strike as she growls, “That’s it-” 

“_Wait! _” 

Moon freezes, and the two turn their heads to look at Sun. He bites his lip, knowing he has to step delicately around the topic with his sister. “I mean, he has a point,” he explains slowly, looking between the two, “You seem to be the only one around here, and things have been getting weird.” 

She hates that he’s right – back in Kanto, she’d known at least three other Slayers who could take care of threats while she was still training. Here in Alola, however, she has yet to encounter any, and though she’s sworn off her years as a Slayer, it seems that the dark magic threatening the region has only multiplied. 

Sensing her hesitance, the vampire beneath her speaks up. “I have ample reason to suspect that Alola, and the world, is about to face its biggest threat from Lusamine Aether, and I can help.” 

With a frown, Moon stands, keeping her stake pointed at him as he follows suit, arms raised in a show of surrender, though his gaze is merciless. 

Sun raises a brow, lost in thought. “The environment lady? Isn’t her deal all about saving the whales?” 

“She isn’t as she appears,” the vampire snaps, unable to roll his eyes because he needs to keep his focus on the stake-happy Slayer in front of him. 

Moon’s eyes narrow in suspicion, her mind trying to connect dots that she only knows the vague outlines of. “And how do you know all this?” 

“My name is Gladion – Gladion Aether.” 

The similarities hit the siblings like a sixteen-wheeler; the genetics are so shockingly similar that they almost feel stupid for not realizing sooner, especially when Lusamine’s image is plastered everywhere after her organization became the savior of Alola’s natural resources. 

Gladion continues, slow and methodical and all too aware of the weight of his words, “My own mother turned me two years ago, and she will stop at nothing to end the world.” 

This is the moment when Moon realizes where she fits into this equation. 

After a ten-year hiatus, she’s not only going to have to reclaim her title as Slayer in full, but the only things standing between the world and the apocalypse are her, her reckless brother, and a vampire she just kicked in the balls. 

She rubs her temples with a sigh, feeling a headache coming on. 

“I need so much coffee right now.” 

* * *

_ As vampires have no souls, they become pure id. Their emotions know no limits, and they have no conscience to temper their actions. Therefore, trusting a vampire, no matter how rational they may seem, is unadvisable and should be done in only the most extreme cases by experienced Slayers. _

** _ Doctor _ ** ** _ Gramtapen’s _****_Grimoire, 6_****_th _ ** ** _ Edition _ **

* * *

Two cups of coffee and a long explanation in her apartment’s living room later, and Moon can definitively say that the universe is doomed. 

Sun, ever the optimist, sips from a mug and goes over his notes with a self-satisfied smirk. “So all we have to do is find your sister, she’ll tell us the details she found about your mom’s plans, and then we bust in there and stop her once and for all.” He looks up at the other two seated at Moon’s dining table, far too bright-eyed for six in the morning and post-kidnapping. “How hard can it be?” 

His sister opens her mouth to answer with an adamant _"___v_ery," _but Gladion beats her to it. “I have a lead on Lillie’s location, so the sooner we can track her, the better our odds are.” 

Another line is added to Sun’s notes, scrawled hastily on some loose paper that Moon had lying around, with a pencil he found in a kitchen drawer. “Right, and we’ll probably need all the backup we can get, considering we’ve never dealt with a combination witch-vampire – oh, we should totally tell Hau and–” 

“And I’m gonna stop you right there.” Moon sets down her mug, sliding it across the table as her gaze slides to the vampire that she’s allowed to enter her apartment against her better judgement. “Listen Blondie–” 

“Gladion,” he corrects, the corner of his lips threatening to lift into a smirk. 

If looks could kill and he weren’t undead, her glare would be sending him exactly six feet under. “Did I stutter?” She rolls her eyes, standing with her hands on the table as she mutters, “I’ve been out of the game for a decade, so I’m not stoked to kick off a come-back tour with taking down a Big Bad and preventing the apocalypse. Besides, I still don’t trust you.” 

Gladion’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands, and it’s frankly unfair that he has nearly a foot on her, glaring down at her like she’s a misbehaving child. “You don’t have a choice.” 

Sun forces a laugh, standing slowly and sensing the rising temperature of the room. “Let’s slow down for a second.” 

He places a hand on Moon’s arm, and she huffs but follows his lead to a few feet away (and she doesn’t bother pointing out that the vampire can definitely still hear them). Sun picks his words carefully, leaning in and whispering, “I’m not saying hold his hand and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ but there’s no way he’s lying about _ all _of this.” 

She raises a brow. “He’s a vampire – all they do is drink blood and lie.” 

“He didn’t drink mine.” Moon nearly argues, but she stops short; it’s admittedly rather shocking that a vampire would have enough wits about them to not immediately drain a human, much less negotiate with a Slayer. Sun chances a glance back at Gladion, who’s decided to study the magnets on Moon’s fridge with a frown. “Besides, if even half of what he says is true, we need his help to stop it.” 

But she certainly doesn’t have to be happy about it. She scrutinizes her brother for a moment longer, but he holds her gaze, just as stubborn as she is. He’s right, and they both know it, and she figures this is probably the universe’s retribution for her shirking Slayer duty. 

With a groan, she turns and takes a few steps towards Gladion, who leans against the fridge and watches her. “I’m going to be late to work so I’m only going to say this once: if you want me to help you, then you have to earn my trust.” 

“And how do you propose I do that?” 

She points to the couch with a smirk. “Congratulations, you live here now.” His eyes ignite and he opens his mouth, but she cuts him off with her own annoyance, “It’s the best way I can keep an eye on you and see if you’re really on the straight and narrow. If not, I have a stake with your name on it.” 

Turning on her heel, she misses the absolute indignation that seeps into Gladion’s face. Just when her hand is on the doorknob to her bedroom, he scoffs. “I’m not going to be babysat!” 

She rolls her eyes as she opens the door, turning to face him with a scowl. “You don’t have a choice, Gladbag.” 

“_Gladion.” _

_ “ _ _ Did I f__ucking__ stutter__.” _

And she slams the door behind her, effectively ending the conversation and leaving Gladion to glower by the fridge, hands clenched into fists and mind devising seventeen different ways to end the Slayer. 

Sun coughs, offering a nervous smile that withers under the vampire’s glare. 

“I think she likes you.” 

* * *

_ Her vision is going dark around the edges, a mess of fuzzy circles dancing in the shadows as she coughs. It feels like her lung might come up. She peels herself off the concrete, and a gravelly voice laughs __at her shaking body__. _

_ “Like I said, __lil __Slayer.” She struggles to keep herself up on her elbows, sneakers coming into view as a figure crouches, bloodshot eyes and a crazed smile__ too close to her__. _

_ “You came to the wrong neighborhood.” _

_ Moon. _

“Moon?” 

She flinches back in the chair she’s settled into in the pharmacy’s back room. A dull _ thud _sounds as her head hits the wall, and she remembers to pretend it hurts, rubbing it as she glances up at her coworker. 

Kai looks down at her with an understanding smile; however, there must be something troubling in Moon’s face, because the other pharmacist’s brows furrow and she asks, “Bad dream?” 

“Something like that...” It’s been a few years since she’s had a prophetic vision, but the feeling of dread lingering in her stomach confirms it. She does her best to shake it off, to not think about how at some point in the future, she’s going to end up bloody and bruised in a place she doesn’t recognize with someone taunting her. 

Moon clears her throat, giving Kai a sheepish smile as she stands. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” 

Kai tilts her head, still concerned as they walk out of the back room and back towards the counter, their break officially over. “Why’s that?” 

_ My brother got kidnapped by a vampire who revealed that his mom is planning to bring about the apocalypse. _

“I got a roommate.” Moon takes her place at the counter, stretching out her back and hearing a satisfying pop. 

“Oh wow,” Kai mumbles conversationally, leaning her elbows against the counter as she looks out at the empty pharmacy. “What’re they like?” 

Bloodthirsty and dangerous. 

Mysterious and morally ambiguous. 

Just a straight up asshole. 

But then this is all based on a strange first impression, and Sun’s insistence that there’s something different about the vampire scratches at the back of her mind. With a sigh, Moon settles on the one objective fact that she can tell Kai without revealing the existence of magic or sounding judgmental. 

“Blond.” 

Close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very excited (and a little nervous) to unleash my passion project that's been consuming my writing for a while now: a BtVS! AU that releases a chapter for every day of October, complete with stupid puns for titles, accompanying music, and lots of lona along the way!!
> 
> I hope you guys stick around for it, and happy October~


	2. the witch, the druid, and the wardrobe malfunction

[[♪ Watch Out - Abba ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ0a0AahmRk)

Lillie has always dreamed of having her own apartment, away from the manor, away from her mother, away from the nightmares. She pictured something small, with windows that greet the morning sun, and neatly placed décor. Something light and airy, just enough for her, and maybe her brother, and with room for the future. 

Instead, she has a basement – or is it a cellar? She’s really not sure what the difference is – overflowing with cauldrons, dried ingredients, and arcane tomes. It’s dark, and at times suffocating, and right now she really wishes it was at least a little organized. 

_ That’s my own fault, though_, she thinks with a frown, eyes scanning the shelves and having a hard time focusing with the lack of light. Now that she thinks about it, she really should have gathered all the ingredients before she started on this potion that needs to be made in relative darkness. 

Hindsight is 20/20, she supposes. 

With the faint green glow from her cauldron, she’s just able to make out the labels. _Turmeric, eye of newt, blood of a sacrificial lamb...I really should have alphabetized these. _

But a glance at the cuckoo clock hanging on the wall reminds her that she’s already running late for this delivery, and she hurries her search. Besides, she can’t complain too much about the place when she’s staying rent-free, courtesy of a connection of Wicke’s and a very understanding high school teacher and his wife. 

A huff escapes her lips as her fingers tap the edge of the wood shelf. Then a bottle glints like a wink, and there in the back she sees it – oleander powder. With a triumphant smile, she carefully reaches her hand towards it, careful of the other bottles and the crystal ball of swirling pink and purple smoke just a few centimeters away from her elbow. Her fingers carefully wrap around the glass bottle. 

And then the cuckoo clock chimes. 

She lets out a squeal and her entire body flinches, including her arm, and her elbow bumps right into the crystal ball. 

It falls almost gracefully to the floor, smoke forming into bodies and wicked grins just before it crashes to the ground and shatters. Lillie watches, paralyzed, as the smoke billows out, filling the room with laughter. 

A creature takes on corporeal form by her feet, and she dives down to grab at it, but it flits away, slinking into the shadows with a laugh at her expense. Her eyes widen as she realizes just how many imps are beginning to take shape, all of them hollering and shrieking, high-pitched voices echoing around the basement as they disappear just as quickly as they form. They zip around her feet, somehow climbing onto the shelves and rearranging ingredients as others tug on her hair. She shrieks, batting at them uselessly. “S-stop it!” 

She looks over at the cauldron, and sure enough, three of the little demons are sitting along the edge, sprinkling in random ingredients and howling to themselves as the green liquid takes on a fuchsia shade and sparks. “Get away from that,” she huffs, reaching out a hand and grinning when the lightning strike that bursts from her palm manages to nail two of the three. 

But there’s too many – her pillows are being flung around and they keep cackling and the lights are flashing on and off. 

Her fury builds and she closes her eyes, the bottle of oleander powder clenched tightly in her fist as her body begins to glow crimson. She opens her eyes, two supernovas, and lets out a piercing scream that is her voice and the voice of a thousand tortured souls. 

“_GET OUT” _

The shockwaves pulsate through the air, striking the imps and making them disappear. The witch watches, letting out a sigh of relief when the basement is once again quiet, and she surveys the mess of her room, including the shards of the crystal ball lying like a mosaic at her feet. 

She sighs as she carefully picks up a shard, examining it in the dull fuchsia light of the cauldron, and decides that the edge of a shelf definitely isn’t the best place for a crystal ball containing dozens of imps. 

Hindsight really is 20/20. 

* * *

It’s only been four days since Gladion moved in with Moon, and the two are already dangerously close to killing each other at a moment’s notice. 

“You owe me a drink,” Moon grumbles, pulling her car up into a parking spot before throwing the vampire in the passenger seat a scowl. 

Gladion rolls his eyes. “What for?” 

“You finished all my coffee and didn’t tell me.” 

Admittedly, the Slayer figured she’d be staking the vampire anyway, but for arguably more important reasons. Instead, Gladion’s been on his best behavior, and at night he’s stayed in their apartment, only leaving briefly to collect his few belongings on the first night. 

She figured it would be best to keep him close. 

Now she’s thinking she’d be okay with a few civilian deaths if it meant not having to put up with the snooty blond for another hour. 

“Why did you even drag me here in the first place?” Gladion sneers at the sight of the dive bar, a decades-old establishment in Iki Town that only locals can put up with. The neon red sign used to read “Hala’s,” but a few years back the ‘L’ lost its shine and only flickers to life occasionally. It’s 8pm on a Thursday so the parking lot is fairly empty, but a beat-up pickup truck, blue sedan, and an old sports car signal that there’s at least a few people here. 

Moon turns off the car, taking a deep breath – _in through your nose, out through your mouth, and keep your hands from throttling him. _“Because the French Laundry wasn’t taking reservations.” She opens the door, getting out and waiting for him to do the same before locking her car, tucking her keys into her bag as she explains, “We’re meeting a friend who can help.” 

“What kind of-” 

The rest of his question is cut off by a gag as he covers his nose with his sleeve. She smirks, used to the smell that only others touched by magic can pick up on; it’s woodsy with a musk undertone and all too familiar with how much time she spends at Hala’s. Gladion, on the other hand, is less than enthused, watching her walk towards the front door with a glare. 

“You’re trying to kill me.” 

She laughs, but there’s a sharp edge to it. “Believe me, if I wanted you dead, I’d be doing it myself.” 

“Then why are you taking me to some sketchy bar infested with nature spirits?” 

He isn’t moving from his spot next to the car, and the streetlamp above him only works to harshen his face into an impenetrable glare. Clearly, the rift between the guardians of the natural world and the unnatural creatures of the night is primal and unforgiving. 

But she’s just as unyielding, and that’s the real problem they have. She knows that if she lightened up with him just a hair, she wouldn’t be half as frustrated with him. There’s no telling if he’s the type to be given an inch and take a mile, though, and with a vampire, that mile can get very bloody very quickly. Still, they can’t expect to stop the end of the world when they can’t even agree on what music to play in the car. 

“Fine, you don’t have to go in,” she mumbles, crossing her arms and raising her chin because she can bend, but she’s still going to be defiant about it – after all, he’s dragging her out of retirement and being an ass about it the entire time. “But we both know that if your mom is really trying to open up a portal to some hell dimension, then you, a human, and a rusty Slayer aren’t gonna cut it. Hala and his tribe already know about you and aren’t going to attack without good reason, and if you want to track down your sister, there’s nobody better to do it.” 

He finally removes his arm from his face, but his frown doesn’t drop. She rolls her eyes, finally pushing open the door and calling over her shoulder, “Up to you, but if you decide now’s the time to hit the berserk button and go on a rampage, at least wait until I finish my drink.” 

And he mulls it over for a moment, considers the situation they find themselves in, and decides that it could be much worse (and he could resemble something much closer to dust if she really wanted to stake him). 

With a resigned slump of his shoulders, he follows her into the bar. “I still don’t owe you a drink.” 

She smirks but says nothing, instead surveying Hala’s. The wood floor groans with every step, and much of the chairs, tables, and booths are in some state of disrepair; at a certain point, there’s more duct tape than stools. Her eyes pass over the three regulars in a corner booth, and instead settle on the long stretch of the bar, where her brother sits, nursing a beer and talking to the bartender, a young man with a wide smile and green hair hastily pinned up into a short ponytail. 

“The lingering smell of cheap beer mixes so nicely with the druid stink,” Gladion hums, glancing unimpressed at the dart board hanging nearby, several holes in the wall peppered around it. 

“I heard that.” 

Moon takes a seat next to her brother, Gladion lingering behind in embarrassment and unable to look at the bartender, who only grins wider, resting his hands on the bar. “You aren’t the only one here with enhanced hearing, cousin. You must be Gladion – I'm Hau.” 

“Don’t mind the six-foot leech,” Moon mumbles, leaning her elbows on the counter and sparing the vampire a passing smirk, “He’s just grumpy because he has to pay for me.” 

Hau’s already pouring her a beer from the tap, shaking his head. “No need. I was just telling Sun that the first round’s on me.” 

Gladion raises a brow, slowly taking the corner seat, just a little further away from the others. “What’s the occasion?” 

“You managed to get our friendly neighborhood Slayer back in business.” He slides the generous glass of beer to Moon before asking, “Does Kukui know?” 

She frowns, accepting the beer and taking a long sip. In the silence, Gladion clears his throat, because he’s not exactly eager to get half the island involved in his business. “Who’s Kukui?” 

“Our high school bio teacher,” Moon snaps, slamming her glass back down a little harder than she intended, nearly half of it already gone; Gladion makes a mental note that this is a sore subject (and one he should definitely bring up when she gets on his nerves). 

Seeing the vampire’s confusion, Sun turns to him and clarifies, “Her Watcher.” He takes another long sip from his glass, ignoring the glare his sister is trying to burn the back of his neck with. “Well, he’s supposed to be, but there’s not really much to watch when she refuses to actually be a Slayer.” 

“We’re_ not _talking about this.” 

It’s not up for negotiation, and the silence becomes clunky and awkward for a moment. Gladion looks between the siblings, who don’t dare to look at each other. He thinks now might be a good time to make things worse to ask about why exactly she put away the stakes and holy water in the first place, but Hau slams a beer can down in front of him. He raises a brow, eyes going from the wide grin of the young man to the can as he lifts it in his hand. The design feels vintage, almost nostalgic, and features drawings of sumo wrestlers along with a grinning old man giving a thumbs up above a bold font that declares “Hala’s Brew.” 

“...what is this?” It’s barely a question, more so an accusation, but Gladion carefully cracks open the bottle and takes a sniff, nose scrunching when he picks up on a scent he can’t identify. He’ll be damned if he’s going to drink some strange beer he’s never heard of given to him by a druid. 

But Hau only laughs at the twisted face he pulls, explaining simply, “We know it’s a little tricky for non-humans to really get drunk, so Tutu spent years researching and developed a beer that’ll get any vampire, werewolf, nature spirit, or the like buzzed.” 

Sun smirks, leaning in to give Gladion a conspiratorial wink. “The secret ingredient is love. And a shit ton of ambrosia.” 

“Just drink it.” Moon’s silver eyes catch his green, and the spark of a challenge is clear. “Or are you scared?” 

He chugs half of it without a second thought. 

Placing the can back down, Gladion raises a brow, his mouth coated in a pleasant aftertaste. “That’s...sweet.” 

The other three laugh, knowing all too well with the amount of ambrosia that Hala settled on, it’s definitely more reminiscent of a soda than a craft beer. Hau’s eyes light up, and he grins, diving beneath the bar as he mumbles, “Hang on...” They wait a moment, hearing him shift some containers around, before he rises again, brows furrowed in confusion. He shrugs. “I was gonna give you a little umbrella as a joke, but I guess whoever was working last night moved them.” 

Moon swears she hears a snicker behind her, but when she turns to look, all she sees is the mostly empty bar, and the same trio of regulars in their booth, discussing something quietly. She writes it off, but her instincts are still on edge as she turns back to the others. 

“I’m assuming Sun told you we need to track someone?” 

Hau nods, adjusting one of the gold clips working overtime to try and keep his hair in place. “Lillie Aether. I need a picture, though, and any leads you have so far.” 

Gladion pulls his phone out of his back pocket, scrolling for a minute before settling on a photo and showing the screen to Hau. He takes the phone, eyes widening for a moment as he bites back a low whistle. 

“You didn’t say she was a model.” 

“She isn’t,” the vampire snaps, eyes flashing red as he growls, “And she’s my sister, so hold your tongue, Tree Boy.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, shark bait.” He hands the phone back, easy grin never budging; it’s one of the many things that Moon’s always been jealous of him for, even back in high school. While she has a fuse as short as a matchstick, Hau and Sun have always been able to let things roll of their shoulders with nothing more than a quip and a laugh. 

Gladion slides his phone back into his jeans, and takes another sip of Hala’s Brew, eyes still narrowed in suspicion. “Last I heard, she’s living on Melemele. One of our mother’s associates got her out with a connection to a scientist who used to work with Aether.” 

Hau chews his cheek in thought, nodding along to some mental math. “Shouldn’t take more than a day.” 

“Really?” If Gladion was unconvinced before, now he’s downright skeptical, but Hau only nods. 

“Small world – if she’s on Melemele, even if she’s hiding, it won’t take long to find her.” 

Sun raises his glass. “I’ll drink to that!” 

“You’ll drink to anything,” Moon mumbles, but she gives him half a smile and joins the toast anyway, her glass clicking against his, and the empty one that Hau produces to join in. Gladion only takes a sip from his can, watching them with the perpetual furrow in his brows. She nearly makes a joke at his expense about it, but Sun has a bright idea after finishing off his drink. 

“We need a team name.” 

“What for?” 

But Hau ignores Gladion in favor of proposing, “The Slayerettes?” 

Sun shakes his head, leaning forward. “Reductive. How ‘bout Apocalypse Busters?” 

“We don’t needa team name when we aren’t even a team – neither of you are supposed to be involved in this.” Gladion very nearly crushes the beer can in his grip, but his fury is lost in their euphoria as Sun and Hau continue to riff off each other, each suggestion getting exponentially worse. 

Moon rolls her eyes, tuning out their conversation as she takes another sip from her glass. Something tickles her ear, and then her hair falls from the half-up style that she’s had it in all day. She frowns, reaching a hand up to see what happened to her hair tie, only to find it missing. When she turns to see if it fell onto the floor, it’s just in time to see one of the patrons in the corner fall on his face while getting out of the booth, his two friends torn between laughing and asking if he’s all right. 

Hau raises a brow, calling out to them and half-joking, “Do I need to cut you guys off already?” 

“No,” the man grunts, sitting up to reveal that his shoelaces are tied together. “But one of you needs to fess up.” 

This sets off an argument, with both his drinking buddies claiming they didn’t do it, that they couldn’t have; after all, neither of them crawled underneath the table at any point. It escalates to the point that Hau sighs, walking over to ease the tension with another of his joke-and-smile combinations. 

A flash of movement, something small and pink, catches the corner of Moon’s eye, but when she turns, she’s greeted with the rest of the empty bar. She nearly stands, going to investigate the shadows on the far wall, where she swears there’s more laughter, but then Hau is coming back and she still has half a pint of beer to finish. 

Besides, stopping the apocalypse is more than enough funny business for her to focus on. 

* * *

_ Imps are relatively harmless, and can make fine familiars for the young witch or warlock who doesn’t mind a little mischief! If you’ve grown tired of their pranks, however, you may seal them away in any glass container, provided it has not housed holy water before. _

** _ My First Familiar by _****_A_****_ya Gab_****_b_****_a, Chapter 5 _ **

* * *

“Rise and shine.” 

Gladion cracks an eye open, groaning as he tries to shift his body. This couch is too small for him, and it’s a wonder he can take a nap on it at all. When he manages to sit up, he sees Moon opening the last curtain to reveal the evening sky, shaking a plastic bag of red liquid, awakening his instincts as he feels a primal call. 

_ Blood. _

He hasn’t fed in five days now; it’s impossible with a Slayer breathing down his neck. Before she can blink, he’s up and standing next to her, nearly grabbing the bag from her hands, but she jerks it away from him at the last moment. 

She tsks, trying to hide her amused smile, “Manners.” 

“Oh forgive me, I always forget my etiquette lessons about _ drinking blood _,” he mumbles, but her mischief is infectious, just a little. He watches as she opens up a cabinet, grabbing a novelty mug – something horribly pink with a terrible typeface proclaiming “Sexy Pharmacist” – and depositing the bag inside, along with a fluorescent green crazy straw bent into several twisting loops. 

With a satisfied smirk, she holds the mug out to him. “Ta-da.” 

Gladion’s face drops, as the realization that he’s essentially been reduced to a Slayer’s pet hits him. “This is demeaning.” 

“It’s dinner.” She shoves it into his chest, forcing him to clumsily accept it as she flashes him a thumbs-up and turns on her heel, heading for her bedroom. “Drink up.” 

He sighs, long and loud just to really grate on her nerves. Setting the mug down on the counter, he follows her and argues, “You know it’d just be simpler to let me go out and feed.” 

Moon snorts, turning to give him a raised brow. “Oh sure, I'll let a vampire go on a Slayer-sanctioned sipping spree.” 

“I have self-control, you know.” 

“A vampire with self-control? Good one, let me know when your stand-up special is out.” A chime from her pocket cuts their seventeenth argument short, and she pulls out her phone to read the text. “Looks like Hau’s found your sister. He’ll be over in ten minutes.” 

She walks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her (which seems to be her favorite way of ending conversations with him). Gladion waits a moment longer, glaring at the door as he hears her opening up her dresser and shifting around. He turns, deciding he might as well take her advice and drink, only to frown at the empty counter. 

“Did you take the blood with you?” 

He swears he left it right on the counter, but starts walking around the kitchen, searching for the so-bright-you-can't-miss-it mug. 

Her voice is muffled by the door, but his hearing picks it up clear as day as she calls out, “Why would I?” 

And then he hears a laugh, and he smells something sulfuric, and he knows they aren’t alone in this apartment. 

She opens the door on him hunched over, sniffing the air and eyes wandering the corners of the room. Moon raises a brow as she finishes tying up her hair, hands on her hips. “What are you -” 

“_Shh.” _He flaps a hand at her, ears straining to pick up on the noise again as she huffs. 

A moment later, they both hear the devilish giggling and stiffen. Moon’s quick to realize that it’s the same one she heard at the bar, but she’s even quicker to spot the flash of movement, diving to the floor and grabbing the creature at the last second. Gladion blinks, almost impressed, but then she stands, holding up the squirming mass of pink ears and purple tongue. His brows furrow as he tries to decipher the shape. “What the hell is it?” 

“Imp.” It struggles, but her grip is tight around its body. She looks over at the vampire, explaining, “They look nastier than they really are – mostly they mess things up around the house, including, apparently, hiding blood bags and tying shoelaces together.” 

“So kill it.” 

“That’s inhumane.” 

“No, that _thing _you’re holding is literally inhumane.” 

Moon blinks, lifting up the imp in her hands and taking a look at its large set of fangs as it resigns itself to its fate, eerily smiling at the two of them. “Don’t you think it’s sort of cute?” 

Gladion looks at it for about half a second and swears if he could still feel shivers that one would be running down his spine; the eyes are absolutely vacant yet full of murderous intent. 

“Please just get it out of my sight.” 

She bites back her laugh, too amused at the genuine panic settling behind the vampire’s eyes to notice the flicker in the shadows behind her. “Get me a glass-” 

Jar. 

She was going to say, “Get me a glass jar,” but Moon doesn’t say that, and Gladion certainly doesn’t hear it, because a second imp dashes up her back and unties the straps of her halter top, the fabric falling down. With wide eyes and a delayed shriek, she throws the arm that isn’t holding the imp against her chest, turning just in time to see the second imp squeeze its body under the door and disappear. 

It’s excruciatingly silent for a minute, and Gladion very pointedly looks at the floor, biting his tongue because he knows making the joke he wants to – something suspiciously close to “It’s not like there was much to see” - is going to get him staked. 

And then Moon squeezes the imp in her hand impossibly tighter, the creature yelping in her iron grip, one of its limbs turning to a hazy fog of pink from the sheer force. 

“Change of plans, we’re going imp-hunting.” 

* * *

“Kobe!” 

Sun tosses the imp in his hands like a basketball, watching it sail through the air just before Hau catches it in the smoke-filled pickle jar, the creature dissipating into pink and purple fog once more as Hau quickly shuts the lid. 

Gladion feels his eye twitch as he watches the two with his own jar in hand. “Are you going to do that _every _time?” 

Sun gives him a wide grin and nod. “I’m five for five – that's a record.” 

Hau and Sun continue down the forest path, mindful of the tree roots and uneven bumps blocking their way, and Gladion follows behind them with a scowl. “How are you always so cavalier? The druid I get, but you? You’re not exactly well-equipped.” 

“They’re imps, anyone with a mason jar is well-equipped.” Sun is all too used to being reminded that he’s the normal, that he should stay out of it, that he’s not the Slayer, but it still makes him bristle all the same. He rolls his shoulders, bolstering his wounded ego as he adds, “Besides, I’ve been doing this since I was twelve.” 

Gladion absolutely doesn’t believe him, and Hau can sense the oncoming argument, so he’s quick to supply, “You know, we're actually around the area your sister’s staying.” 

It doesn’t just distract the vampire; it hurries him onward, renewing the bounce in his step as he brushes past the other two young men and snaps, “Then let’s finish off this wild goose chase and get to brass tacks.” 

Sun raises a brow, mumbling just under his breath, “Whatever you say Dick Tracy.” 

The vampire nearly snaps at him, but they’re halfway down the trail and a flash of movement catches their eye, and they watch as Moon smashes another imp into her glass jar before sealing it tightly. She lets out a huff, not quite breaking a sweat but clearly ready for this whole ordeal to be over. Her gaze catches on the trio as they approach, and she can’t help but smirk. “I was starting to wonder where the Three Stooges got off to.” She turns, jerking her chin to the stretch of land before them that transitions from forest to soft sands of a beach. “The imp concentration is getting higher, so we must be close to the source.” 

“Still got the instincts, cousin.” Hau grins, even as Moon’s face drops into a frown and she mutters something under her breath, her grip tightening on the jar in her hand. 

Before Sun can break the tension or Gladion can make it worse, a rustle draws their ears, and all four turn, caught in between fight and flight as they listen to an imp’s laugh and watch a figure come stumbling out of the bush. 

“Gotcha!” 

A jar slams atop the imp, the creature instantly dissipating into pink and purple dust. Lillie lets out a breath of relief despite being worse for wear. Her white dress is sporting a tear she’ll have to patch up, and she’s definitely scraped her knees just now by lunging after the imp, but that seems to have been the last of them and she’s more than happy to call it a night. 

Until she hears a small gasp about twenty feet up the path. 

She looks up with wide eyes, mouth falling open in preparation to concoct some strange lie – maybe “oh, have you seen the rest of my LARP group” or “tarantula escaped, sorry for the scare” - when her eyes land on a very familiar, very sorely missed face. 

“Gladion?” 

Her brother gulps. “Hi Lillie.” 

They hesitate. The last time she saw him still haunts her nightmares, and she can still remember how he looked at her right after he was turned. Like she was some stranger to him, some prey that was caught in a hunter’s trap. 

But he clearly has his wits about him, and he steps forward, and she can’t contain herself anymore because it’s been six long months without him. She leaves the jar, uncaring if it undoes all her hard work, uncaring if it brings the world to an end because finally, _ finally _she knows her brother is here and safe and still her brother. 

She sprints up the path and throws her arms around him, squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as she squeezes her arms around him. He wraps his arms around her and is mumbling some sort of apology, but it falls on deaf ears. 

“Should, uh, should we introduce ourselves?” 

“Read the room, Sun.” 

Lillie opens her eyes, incredibly aware now of the three strangers standing and watching their reunion. Her cheeks color and she pulls out of their hug, giving her brother a look that he answers with a sigh. Clearly, this wasn’t his plan, but then they’re no strangers to improvising a bad situation into a... less bad one. Lillie can’t help but laugh, because after everything she’s been through, whatever motley crew is assembled before her is just the cherry on top. 

“I think we have some catching up to do, Gladion.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we have almost all the main crew rounded up, so the real fun can begin...
> 
> Hau's powers will be explained a little more later on, but as far as the "druids" in this story go, think something along the lines of DnD, with a connection to elemental manipulation and a few other fun tricks
> 
> (fun fact: originally, the imps were based on Gengar, but then Nintendo released Impdimp to the world and, well, it was too perfect)


	3. get it through your thick skull

[[♪ Start a Riot - Duckwrth, Shaboozey ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNRC137o0j8)

Sun is finding it a little difficult to concentrate at his job. 

It’s been about three days since they accidentally found Lillie and she laid out what little information she had managed to gather about Lusamine’s plan. Most of it had flown over his head – ancient rituals, archaic runes, eldritch horrors beyond comprehension – but the gist of it seems to be that she’s biding her time, trying to find a way to open up a portal to a different dimension and assemble an army of aliens (or are they technically demons?). There were other details, questions about accomplices, possibilities about a key to open a bigger portal, but frankly it’s all a little too much to keep in his head at once. 

The worst part is that there’s nothing they can do about it, and the gang is instead laying low and collecting intel. For Hau, that means going to his network of underground magical creatures to see if there’s any news he can pick up. Lillie is consulting some old manuscripts she swiped from Aether Paradise before she snuck out and honing her powers. Apparently Gladion has some old connections in the shadier side of things that he’s trying to get in touch with, and Moon is begrudgingly training again. 

And Sun is, well, going to work. 

Sometimes he really hates being the regular guy, but he has to pay rent and he doesn’t exactly have a magic spell or town of druids that he can pull out of his pocket. 

So he goes to work, as if he doesn’t know the world might end in less than a year, but this time with a stake and a vial of holy water in his back pocket. 

Can’t hurt to be too careful these days. 

He’s nearing the end of his night shift, and yawns as he double-checks the address on his last package. It’s not one he’s delivered to before on Ula’ula, but his GPS was able to find it easily enough. He follows the directions on his phone, taking a shortcut from Malie City. 

The streetlights come fewer and further between, and he gets a distinctly Not Good feeling about this place even before he sees a giant wall rising in the distance. When he gets closer, the orange streetlight reveals copious graffiti decorating the stone, cigarette butts and broken bottles lining the street. 

_ Oh, so this is Po Town, _he thinks, realizing that in the years he’s lived in Alola he’s diligently avoided this area. All the locals know Po Town, and they know that you only go to Po Town if you’re looking for trouble. He figured most of the stories of pickpockets and drunken fights and people disappearing must have been hyperbole, modern fairy tales to scare little kids. Surely, a place so close to a major police station wouldn’t be that chaotic? 

But the station down the street looks abandoned and he can hear indistinct shouting on the other side of the wall. He takes a step closer and stops, straining his ears and hearing something suspiciously close to an explosion. 

“Nope,” he mumbles, turning on his heel and deciding he’d rather risk upsetting his boss than dying in a fiery explosion, “Not today.” 

He’s nearly back on the old dirt path when he hears a whistle. 

There’s a woman sitting on a tree branch, watching him with glowing amber eyes and a smirk that reveals a fang. “Hey kid.” 

Sun freezes. 

He wonders if this is how lambs going to slaughter feel. 

And the woman smiles, tilting her head, pink and blond hair following the motion as she purrs, “We’ve been expecting a delivery.” 

To his credit, Sun manages to get a hundred feet of running in before he feels an unnaturally strong shove on his back, tripping over his feet and hitting the ground just a touch too hard and head-first. His vision darkens around the edges, but he raises himself up onto his elbows, about to try and crawl his way out of this one when he feels a shoe press firmly on his back and pin him to the ground. 

There are voices in the background, and he can just make out blurs of movement that must be other people – _ vampires, _he corrects himself – but then there’s a bag over his head and he slips into darkness. 

He has one last thought before he falls completely out of consciousness. 

_ Damn it, Moon’s __gonna __be so mad. _

* * *

Moon has long considered her apartment to be her sanctuary; it should be a space where she can relax, forgetting about other obligations and just enjoying the quiet. 

Then she got a vampire roommate, and that vampire roommate has a sister who’s a witch, and now she walks in after she gets off work to find plans to stop the apocalypse on the coffee table. 

“Do you have to get occult in my living room?” She hangs her keys on the hook by the door, not able to make out much from the documents spread out, but a few sigils catch her eye. Lillie looks sheepish, immediately trying to consolidate her piles and put a little order back into her system by her place on the floor, but Gladion only deepens his frown without looking up from his laptop. 

“When I’m on house arrest and trying to save the world, yes.” 

It’s a fair enough point. Despite the harrowing details that Lillie told them earlier this week, Moon still refuses to budge on her need to keep an eye on Gladion. Frankly, she’s not even sure if she fully trusts Lillie yet, and she certainly doesn’t want a vampire and a witch teaming up to take down the world behind her back. The resulting compromise now seems to be that instead of going to Lillie’s safehouse, she’ll come over to Moon’s apartment so that the siblings can continue their work on deciphering their mother’s plans and trying to formulate their next move. 

With any luck, that next move will be Stop-Bugging-The-Slayer-And-Let-Her-Go-Back-To-Her-Regularly-Scheduled-Programming. 

Moon drops her bag on her dining table as she walks towards them, tilting her head to try and get a better look at the tome by her foot. It’s not in any language that she can decipher, and she sees a handwritten cipher, half-finished, lying next to it. “Any progress?” 

Lillie hums, picking up her pen and playing with the cap as she explains, “We managed to decode a few more documents. It seems like with the ritual our mother is using, there’s a failsafe that will require a Slayer.” 

“...awesome.” She gives the two a thumbs-up, not able to muster any more fake enthusiasm, and then heads into her room to change. It’s nearly time for her to start dinner, and she realizes that for the first time in a while, she has a human guest over – well, a guest who eats something other than blood. Moon opens her bedroom door, calling over her shoulder, “Are you staying for dinner, Lillie?” 

“O-oh, um...” She colors, unable to stop herself from waving her hands in front of her. “I would hate to impose, really, it’s-” 

“You’re not imposing.” Moon gives her a smile, adding, "Especially when you’ve done nothing but help since we met.” Her eyes slide over to Gladion, face twisting into an annoyed huff. “You’ve certainly been more helpful than Dracula’s estranged son over there.” 

Finally, Gladion’s head snaps up, and he scowls at the Slayer as she walks into her bedroom. “Getting more and more tempting to kill you.” 

“Not if I kill you first.” 

Her door slams shut behind her, leaving Gladion to huff and Lillie to try and hide her giggle. She’s never seen someone get so under her brother’s skin, and while before it might not have been of much note, now it ignites something in his eyes that makes him seem all the closer to human. 

After watching him be turned, she finds that she likes him closer to human than not. 

Gladion, eager to continue his work, shuffles through the papers beside him, an envelope sticking out at an odd angle. His brows furrow for a moment as he pulls it out, then he remembers how he found it slid under the door a few hours ago. It’s unmarked, except for neat handwriting that simply declares “Slayer.” 

When Moon walks back into the living area, changed out of her work clothes and tying her hair up, he holds it out to her. “You got mail.” 

Moon raises a brow, accepting the envelope but not sure what to make of it. “Not loving the vibe of this,” she mumbles, feeling a pit of dread settling into her stomach. One that isn’t unfounded, as she opens the letter and sees that it’s written in letters cut out of magazines, and generally has the aesthetic of a serial killer’s note to the police. 

“Heard you’re back in business,” she reads aloud, “We’re looking to negotiate.” 

Then her eyes fall onto a photo they’ve taped on towards the bottom – her brother is bound to a chair, blindfolded in some basement and clearly unconscious. 

She tastes bile in her mouth as she grips the letter tightly. The siblings watch her in tense silence as she hurriedly reads the rest of the sparse instructions. When she looks up, there’s a faraway gaze in her eyes and she shakes her head, turning towards her front door. 

“Dinner will have to wait,” she explains, grabbing her keys, “I have to make a pit stop in Po Town.” 

At the mere mention of the place, Gladion and Lillie jump up, hurrying to intercept her as Gladion snaps, “You can’t go.” 

“They have Sun.” Moon stops, her gray eyes turning to flint. She’s unrelenting and unflinching in the face of their fear. 

“It’s clearly a trap,” Gladion says, Lillie hesitantly nodding in agreement. 

“I know.” She holds up the letter for their viewing. 

At the very bottom is a line, back to handwriting instead of glued letters, that happily declares, “P.S. This is a trap. :)" 

Neither sibling is sure what to make of it, and Moon realizes just how similar the two are when they both raise a brow. It only drives home her point that she needs to go get her own brother, because while Gladion and Lillie may share a healthy skepticism of the world, her and Sun share a penchant for getting into trouble. 

Gladion, however, pulls out his own stubborn streak. “The place is infested with vampires. Even if you know what to expect, there’s no way you can take them all on. You can’t go.” 

Moon opens her mouth to chew his head off, but stops short when she sees Lillie put a hand on her brother’s arm. The witch gives the Slayer a small, timid smile, but the conviction in her eyes is clear. 

“Alone,” she corrects her brother, “We can’t let you go alone.” 

And as the three of them head out of her apartment and towards Po Town, Moon comes to a very important conclusion. 

“Your sister is a lot cooler than you, Lestat.” 

“I’ll bite you; I swear I will.” 

* * *

_ At this point I am certain that most vampires are __relatively solitary, living in covens of ten or less__. It is unclear what benefits they might gain from traveling in __lar__g__er g__roups, but I imagine that the force would either be too powerful or too chaotic for a single Slayer to take on. _

** _ A Study in Vampire Sociology by Dr. _****_Visha_****_ G_****_l_****_enn, University of Transylvania Press _ **

* * *

Hell will freeze over before she admits it, but Moon’s thankful that Lillie and Gladion are here with her. 

She’s never actually seen Po Town – just the top of the wall from the other side of the island – and when she crawls through the crack in the wall that Gladion pointed out, she gets a shiver down her spine. 

Her sixth sense goes absolutely haywire. 

There’s no doubt the place is crawling with things that go bump in the night, and yet it looks entirely abandoned. The houses that used to make up this neighborhood are boarded up and decrepit, their walls covered in more graffiti than paint at this point. Moon narrowly misses stepping on a broken glass bottle lying next to a half-empty pack of cigarettes. 

Lillie and Gladion follow behind her, and without a word, Lillie darts off to the left, Gladion’s diagram of what he dubbed the “Shady House” gripped firmly in her hand. Moon watches her go, a light blue glimmer seeming to come off her body, and then the Slayer blinks and Lillie’s gone, all but invisible except for her light footfalls. 

Gladion takes cover behind a sedan without any tires, his boots crunching on the remnants of the windshield that litter the dead grass. He turns to Moon, giving her a firm nod, and she takes a deep breath, sending him one final scowl. 

_ This better work. _

He rolls his eyes, simply jerking his head towards the main road again, and she steels her nerves and steps out into the light. 

(And it is a singular light, because there’s only one streetlamp that still gives off a yellow-orange hue on the cracked pavement.) 

“You know, no one sends letters anymore,” she calls into the night, grip tightening on the paper in her hand, “And I think I’m starting to get why.” 

The hair on the back of her neck stands up, and she feels more than hears footsteps approaching. Slowly, a figure comes into view, though he stays just outside of the circle of light that the streetlamp provides. He’s a tall man, clearly built for a fight, and she can just make out a shock of white hair held back by a pair of warped sunglasses. It’s when she spots the white sneakers and the bloodshot gray eyes that she feels her palms go clammy with a realization. 

_ It’s the guy from my dream. _

_ The guy who’s going to beat the shit out of me at some point. _

On the one hand, she feels her guard go up impossibly higher and struggles to keep her heartbeat in check so that he won’t know the surge of fear coursing through her. On the other, it’s almost a relief to know she’s finally going to get that prophetic dream out of the way. 

It’s a blessing and a curse and it’s definitely going to leave a mark. 

“You came to the wrong neighborhood, little girl.” She doesn’t like his voice at all; it’s gravelly and haughty and carries the weight of someone who’s lost their soul. As he says it, she can see shadows moving in her periphery, and knows that the rest of his coven is getting into position. At just a glance, she counts more than twenty. Hopefully, they’ve managed to lure out most of the vampires in Shady House. 

He grins widely, all fang. “You’re in Skull territory, and I’m the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up...big bad Guzma.” 

Moon rolls her eyes. “Terrifying. Now where’s my brother?” 

He laughs, and she gets just a glimpse of how deranged he must really be as his fangs flash and his eyes are wide and glint with bloodlust. It's been a few years since she had to stake a vampire, and that one was a horsefly compared to the wolf spider in front of her. 

“Right down to business.” He grins, and she tenses, preparing herself as he growls, “And you haven’t even met Plumeria yet.” 

She shifts, turning and bringing a hand up to brace herself, but there’s a flash of movement from the side and Gladion has already sprinted out from behind the car, slamming into the woman lunging towards the Slayer and sending them both flying. 

There’s stunned silence for a moment, and then Plumeria scoffs, hands flexing as she crouches and keeps her amber eyes focused on Gladion. If Guzma is arachnid, then Plumeria is all reptile, body languid and voice cold-blooded as she says, “What do you know – Gladbag stops working for us and then gets hired by the Slayer.” Her frown deepens, and there’s a flash of murder in her eyes just before the pounce. “I hate a turncoat.” 

Then she’s lunging right at him and Gladion roars as he goes in for his own offensive, the two exchanging blows. Moon tears her eyes away when she feels something tickle her calf, and looks down with a smile to see a weed slowly pushing up and tickling her leg. 

Looks like Hau got her text. 

She looks up with a smirk, and sees Guzma turning, no doubt ready to yell at the encroaching shadows around them to attack, but he’s stopped short. The vines crawling up the wall surrounding Po Town shoot out, ensnaring the vampires furthest back, while thornbushes double in size and claim the others. Po Town erupts into sound and chaos as a roar of thunder announces Hala’s entrance, the main entrance bursting open as a dozen druids rush in. 

Hau catches Moon’s eye, giving her a wink before joining his grandfather as they zero in on one of the first grunts to escape the vines binding her. 

Guzma watches it all unfold, and Moon can see the muscles of his back tensing even under the sweatshirt. When he turns, all the amusement has drained from his face, replaced with dark veins and eyes that flash red and murderous as he stalks towards her, finally stepping into the light. “We told you to come alone.” 

Moon raises a brow. “No, you didn’t.” 

“Of course we...” His eyes trail to the letter still in her hands, and he snatches it, tearing a corner in the process. His lips form words silently as he reads through it, until he gets to the end, turning over the paper and only seeing a blank page. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.” 

Uncaring of the Slayer in front of him or his second-in-command locked in battle behind her, he turns and yells at the grunts, “_ Hey!” _For just a moment, the battle pauses, Iki Town’s nature spirits looking confused and the Skulls avoiding the harsh glare of their leader. Guzma searches the crowd, taking a few steps towards them as he raises the letter into the air. “Who wrote this?!” 

Slowly, a scrawny vampire with purple hair raises their hand. 

Guzma latches onto their gaze, waving the letter in the air as he barks, “I told you like _ seven times _to make sure to include she has to come alone! Do I gotta mother hen you?” He pauses, taking another look at the letter and groaning. “And what the hell is with telling her it’s a trap?!” 

The grunt swallows, rubbing at their arm and very aware that all eyes are on them as they mumble, “You said it was a trap, which seemed important, and I didn’t wanna-” 

“Enough!” Guzma sighs, crumpling the letter in one hand and using the other to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sighs. “Alright, now I’m real pissed off.” 

“What a coincidence.” As Guzma turns at the voice, his face connects with the Slayer’s fist, sending him stumbling back a few paces as she cracks her knuckles. She holds his gaze, swallows the last of her dread at fulfilling her dream, and gives the stake in her hand a twirl. “So am I.” 

And the chaos is back. 

Gladion is keeping Plumeria busy by the entrance, and the rest of the vampires are kept at bay by Hala’s tribe, which means that Guzma’s full focus is on Moon. 

She’s used to the bloodthirsty glares that vampires have perfected. 

This, however, is something of an entirely different, entirely dangerous, breed. 

Guzma lurches forward, hands aimed for her throat, and she just manages to dodge it, but when she brings her stake up to get him in the back, he turns and grabs her hand mid-strike. He delights in how tight his grip is, Moon trying to hold back her wince as she can feel her muscles screaming for release. She manages to elbow him in the face with her other arm, but he barely flinches, despite the crack that emits from his nose. 

He looks at her with wide eyes, all animal as he shouts, “That all you got?” 

She sneers, and decides she’s never hated a vampire more. She still can’t break his grip on the arm holding the stake, but she steadies herself on the ground and brings a knee up to his groin. 

He only laughs. “You can do better than that, lil’ Slayer.” 

Her fist nails him right in the jaw, her foot kicks his gut, and it would’ve been more than enough to send any other vampire falling to the ground, or at the very least get them to let go of her. Guzma, however, only laughs louder, with little more than a trail of acrid black goo coming out of his nose. 

When he leans in, she can smell his last meal on his breath. 

“My turn.” 

And then her body goes sailing through the air as effortlessly as a ragdoll until she slams into a car, denting the door on impact. She lost her grip on the stake shortly after he threw her, and Moon groans as she peels herself off the car door, seeing that it’s barely connected to the rest of the car anymore. Her vision threatens to tunnel for a moment, but she blinks out of it in time to see that Guzma’s sauntering forward, no doubt ready to finish her. 

With a grunt, she tears off the car door and throws it as hard as she can, grinning when it connects with the Skull boss and leaves him sprawled on the pavement, rubbing his head. She doesn’t have time to revel in the victory, though, as she finally spots her wooden stake a few yards in front of her. The backs of her legs scream, but she forces herself to run towards it, about to pick it up when a sneaker stomps on it before another kicks her square in the gut, stealing the air from her lungs. 

She struggles to stay standing, clutching at her stomach and keeping her eyes trained on Guzma as he picks up the stake, considers it for a moment, and then snaps it in half as easily as a toothpick. He tosses both halves over his shoulder with a wolfish grin, and walks towards Moon. She takes a step back for each of his steps forward, knowing she hasn’t recovered enough to either deal or take another blow. 

“You ever wonder why you’re the only Slayer in Alola?” Her steps falter as her mind leaps to the conclusion even before Guzma can cackle. 

“It’s because I killed all the others.” 

Her back is against the car once more, and her eyes scan her surroundings. There’s still no sign of Lillie or Sun by the mansion in the back, and she can tell from how many lightning strikes Hala is invoking that the Skulls are starting to get an upper hand on the druids. She can just hear Gladion cursing behind her before the distinct sound of bricks crashing through a window. 

The way that Guzma looks at her as he closes the distance is what she imagines a spider looks like moments before devouring the fly in its web. He leans in close, snarling right into her ear, “It’s gonna be so much fun killing you.” 

“You think _ you _get to kill me?” 

He blinks, taken aback for just long enough for her to spit in his face and then duck out of the way of him lunging, stepping behind him and using his own momentum to smash his face into the frame of the car several times. 

Surely now he’ll stay down, but instead he turns, somehow even angrier than before, and she can’t dodge the uppercut that has her seeing stars and falling to the ground. Now every inch of her body is aching, reminding her of the days when she was regularly getting her ass handed to her by demons and dark magic. 

But even the worst of that in Saffron City was a warm hug compared to this onslaught. 

She’s about to get up when she sees Guzma’s right hand begin to morph, the flesh itself turning and twisting in grotesque shapes, leaving her nearly as breathless as his knockout punch. “What the fu-“ 

_ Pincers, _ she realizes as he grabs her by the throat and lifts her off the ground, _His hand can turn into pincers?! _

He grins, watching her struggle to breathe, hands clutching at the pincers squeezing her neck and her feet kicking uselessly in the air. “Like them?” He asks with a chuckle, explaining, “Courtesy of a new business associate.” 

She opens her mouth to snap something back, but instead she’s gasping for air, feeling her airway being crushed with unnatural force (even for a vampire). Her muscles are screeching, but even that becomes too much and she feels her body going limp. 

Guzma squeezes tighter. 

But Moon sees two forms come bursting out of the Shady House and wills herself to stay awake. 

“Once I bring her your head, she’ll have another upgrade for me,” he rambles, and her hands are still clawing at the pincer as he continues, “And then we can open that portal to bring hell to a poor, defenseless, Slayer-less Alola.” 

Isn’t that plan familiar? She swears it is but her thoughts feel far-away and disjointed as consciousness becomes more and more slippery to hold onto. He finally lets her go, her body hits the pavement, and finally her thoughts come back to her. _Lusamine__, _some part of her calls as the rest of her body clings to life, _The Skulls are working for __Lusamine _ _ . _

Her vision is going dark around the edges, a mess of fuzzy circles dancing in the shadows as she coughs. It feels like her lung might come up. She peels herself off the concrete, and a gravelly voice laughs at her shaking body. 

“Like I said, lil Slayer.” She struggles to keep herself up on her elbows, sneakers coming into view as Guzma crouches, bloodshot eyes and a crazed smile too close to her. 

“You came to the wrong neighborhood.” 

She spits something coppery on the ground, wiping at her mouth. Her voice is wavering too much for her liking, but she still manages a smirk as the corner of her eye catches movement. “Funny, could’ve sworn I saw this in a dream.” 

Guzma sneers, and she can see his fangs glinting, preparing for the final strike. “Yeah?” 

“Well, except for the part where my brother douses you in holy water.” 

Whatever response he might have had is cut off by the sizzle of his skin. There isn’t much in the small vial, but Sun manages to get Guzma on the left side of his face and neck, and the vampire is howling. Paired with his other injures, it’s enough to bring him to his knees as Sun brushes past him and grabs his sister’s arms, leaning her against him as they hustle towards the main entrance. 

The rest of the Skull coven drops their own fights, hurrying to their boss and leaving the druids the chance to escape along with Moon and Sun. As they get closer to the entrance, they can see that Plumeria has Gladion pinned to the ground, a hand raised with nails ready to claw at his bruised face. 

And then there’s a flash of blue shooting out from behind them and Plumeria howls, her hand covered in ice as she rolls off of Gladion and Lillie shouts, “Get away from him!” 

It gives Gladion enough time to get up and join the others, and Plumeria glares at the mob of people heading towards her, quick to slink back into the shadows rather than face the numbers game that won’t play out in her favor. 

Their group doesn’t stop running until the walls of Po Town are just a gray mass in the distance and the only sound to accompany their breathing is the harmony of crickets around them. They take a moment to catch their breath, assessing their wounds in the moonlight. Lillie gently reprimands Gladion as she passes a glowing hand over the scrapes on his arm, and he only shakes his head, frowning at the sight of a bruise on her forehead. The druids talk amongst each other before deciding that their least hurt member will morph into an eagle to let the rest of Iki Town know they’ll be arriving soon and needing some first aid. 

Sun glances down at his sister, and feels an immediate hot wash of guilt at her state. While he knows her body can take much more of a beating than his, it’s still downright unfair in his mind that the worst he’ll be dealing with is rope burn on his wrists, and she’s struggling to breathe. He opens his mouth to say something, but she avoids his eyes; she’s never felt so weak, and especially not compared to her little brother. 

Moon gently pushes off him, only to take a few steps before having to lean against the trunk of a palm tree. “I can walk on my own,” she tells the others between breaths, hating that her voice is still so weak. “Let’s keep going.” 

The others look between each other, but Hala is the one who steps forward, placing a calloused hand on her back and rubbing it in soothing circles. She looks up at him, and while she’s used to Hala’s stern face, now she finds that past the mustache and beard are only grave concern – at least, what she can see past the blood trickling into her eye. 

“Let us carry you.” His frown deepens when she shrugs off his touch, and she can hear some of his kahuna voice slip through as he says, “You’re seriously hurt, keiki.” 

She looks up at him with a smirk. “If I was seriously hurt, could I do this?” 

They watch as she stands on wobbly legs, bringing her right foot up to take a step. 

And she passes out, face first, into the dirt. 

* * *

Despite their protests, Hala and Hau insist on everyone staying with them in Iki Town for the night. They aren’t sure if the Skull coven would take the opportunity to attack again, but it’s clear that none of them are ready to face them alone and the safety in numbers is reassuring at least. 

Moon comes to consciousness on one of the spare beds that Hala keeps in his house, with Lillie healing what she can on her body and Sun patching up the rest. Hau pokes his head in at one point to check their progress, but when Moon asks where Gladion ran off too, Lillie pauses. 

“He’s…” She chews her cheek, carefully considering her words and clearly coming to terms with something before sighing. “There was a lot of blood, and he thought it would be best if he stepped out.” Moon hums, and Lillie takes a final look over her body before explaining softly, “I believe that’s all I can do. I’m sorry that-” 

“Thank you, Lillie.” Moon gives her a reassuring smile, simple and earnest as she adds, “Seriously, you’re my favorite.” 

“I’m_ right here _.” 

The two laugh at Sun, who pouts as Lillie scurries out of the room, mumbling something about needing to check on Hau and the others. 

Sun remains at the side of Moon’s bed, and she manages to wheedle his side of the story out of him despite his clear embarrassment. 

“And they didn’t hurt you?” she asks when he trails off, concern creeping into her voice. It’s clear that they manhandled her brother, but she doesn’t see any bite marks, and it’s a small mercy that they got to him before any of the Skulls lost their patience and decided to turn him into a meal. 

He nods. “They didn’t even search me, so I got to give that weirdo a taste of some holy water.” His gray eyes narrow at the memory of seeing Guzma swaggering over his sister, twice her size even when crouching. “Would’ve staked him, but I had to use that on a vampire going after Lillie – speaking of Lillie, she’s a badass! I mean, she comes off so quiet and sweet, but the second she overheard some of those vamps talking about how they were teaming up with Lusamine, it’s like this switch flipped and she was going in guns blazing! Remind me to never piss her off.” 

His sister’s laugh never comes, and Sun withers under her gaze, realizing that while he’s rambling, she’s been staring at the wall across from her with a frown. He scratches the back of his neck while he mumbles, “Like how you’re pissed off at me.” 

“Not at you,” she corrects, looking over at him. “At myself.” She glances down at his wrists and tries to not grimace at the sight of bruises forming. Maybe he escaped unbitten, but he still didn’t escape totally unharmed like he should have. 

She sighs, joining his pity party. “No matter what I do, you always end up in danger.” 

“Danger is my middle name.” 

“Your middle name is Akeakamai.” She rolls her eyes, but the chuckle escapes her all the same, and it gets a smile out of Sun. A moment later, though, and the air is heavy between them once more. She shakes her head, telling him simply, “I promised Mom that I wouldn’t get you tangled up in this.” 

It’s a promise she made years ago, when she finally had to reveal her Slayer status after being expelled from high school, and it’s a promise that she’s since broken a few times when she couldn’t quite avoid the supernatural and her brother dove in headfirst after her. 

Her mother doesn’t know about those incidents, _ shouldn’t _ know, but it still twists Moon’s gut to think that she’s keeping so many things secret from her. 

“And I promised you that I had your back.” Sun snaps her out of her thoughts with his firm tone, but it softens back to his usual chuckle as he flicks her nose. “I won’t tell Mom if you don’t.” 

She manages to raise a hand to rub at her nose. “...deal.” 

Her brother grins, chair scraping against the floor as he stands and heads back out, throwing over his shoulder, “I’m gonna nab some dinner, you want anything?” 

“Yeah, could you get me-” 

“Sorry can’t hear you, bye!” 

“Asshole,” she mutters with a chuckle before settling back into bed. She can smell pulled pork in the air, which means that everyone’s probably settling in for dinner by now. Despite his teasing, she knows Sun will grab her something, but after the punches her stomach took, she’s not sure if she’s up for eating yet. 

“I thought Slayers were supposed to be durable.” 

Moon looks over at the doorway, raising a brow at the voice. Gladion leans against the doorframe with crossed arms, and though he’s teasing her, she can still make out a furrow in his brows. He’s right; Slayers have a harder time getting hurt than other humans, and even without the help of Lillie’s magic, her body should be healed by the morning. 

It still isn’t a pretty sight. 

“They’re also supposed to stake vampires, but here we are,” she counters. He shakes his head to hide his chuckle, and she observes him, finally realizing the full extent of how unlike most other vampires he is. Guzma may be exceptionally ruthless, but even the grunts were decidedly more animalistic than Gladion. Considering he even had the self-control to step out of the building rather than bite her when she was bleeding, Moon realizes there has to be something else at play here, something that someone more familiar with a Grimoire would know. 

_ Someone like- _

“Let me guess – you're here to admit you used to work for the Skulls?” 

He blinks, and she enjoys being able to catch the vampire unaware. “How did you-” 

“There’s the fact that you knew where they’d be keeping Sun, or how you drew a diagram of the base, or how you knew about a hole in the wall.” She lists them off on her fingers, then lowers her hand and gives him a smirk. “But mostly because Strawberry Banana Smoothie literally said you used to work for them.” 

“Right.” He clears his throat, admitting sheepishly, “Thought you might not have heard that part.” 

She chuckles, and with a roll of his shoulders and a puff of his chest, he gives her a defiant look. “Well, go for it.” 

“For what?” 

“The interrogation.” He’s bemused at her own confusion, and explains with no lack of sardonic drawl, “You try and pin me as a double agent, I defend myself, you get angrier, I shout about the end of the world, etcetera.” 

It’s scarily accurate, and it gives her pause. She thinks back on the past two weeks of living with him, remembering what a pain he’s been and, well...not much of anything else. True to his word, he’s kept his head low and worked diligently on trying to stop his mother. Besides not mentioning his connection to the Skulls, he hasn’t even lied to her. 

“I’m good.” 

“Seriously?” She shrugs, and once his surprise dissipates, he scoffs, “You must have no sense of self-preservation if you’re that trusting.” 

She rolls her eyes. “Considering I go to sleep at a night with a vampire in the living room, I’d say my self-preservation has gone out the window.” 

He opens his mouth to say something but stops, frowning instead. With a shake of his head, he turns to leave her to rest, but not before saying, “Reclaim some of it; we need you in one piece.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replies dully, watching him walk out and leaving her with her thoughts. 

She’ll keep it in mind right along with the fact that the Skulls are accomplices for Lusamine, that Lusamine is capable of giving some sort of morphing ability to vampires, that Guzma has killed several Slayers and is by far the strongest creature she’s ever encountered, and that Gladion is the <strike> least intimidating </strike> most human vampire she’s seen so far. 

Her head starts to ache and she thinks she needs an Advil and someone with a lot more information under their belt. 

_ Someone like- _

“Shit.” She sighs, staring up at the ceiling with a frown and finally admits the truth to herself. 

“We need to tell Kukui.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is about as graphic as the violence gets in this fic, so if you can handle this you'll be good to go! feel free to let me know if I need to add any tags or anything
> 
> I love the Skulls because they're dangerous but also share 3 brain cells and Plumeria has 2 of them at any moment


	4. one flew over the kukui's nest

[[♪ Pills - St. Vincent (Explicit) ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwFx0ROBf7o)

“Are you sure you’re okay covering for me, Kai?” 

Moon’s coworker rolls her eyes as she watches her shrug off her lab coat. “However will I handle the last twenty minutes of my shift without you?” Moon snorts, and Kai taps her fingers against the pharmacy counter. “Can I be nosy and ask why you’re leaving early?” 

It’s the least she can do, but Moon still hesitates. She’s a little rusty on the official Slayer rules, but she’s pretty sure there’s one against telling your coworker that you’re going to meet your Watcher after spending the past seven years dodging his calls. 

“Dinner with an old mentor.” 

Kai smiles. “Cute!” She looks like she’s about to ask more questions, but Moon gets saved by the bell above the front door signaling the entrance of a customer. Kai is quick to greet her as Moon hangs back, both of them giving the middle-aged woman a smile. “Afternoon, Mrs. Lo.” 

“Good afternoon girls.” She approaches the counter, holding up a doctor’s note and pill bottle as she explains with furrowed brows, “I have a few concerns about my prescription.” 

Moon knows she should really head out, but she can’t help but hang back, curious as Kai asks politely, “What about?” 

Mrs. Lo adjusts her glasses, setting the prescription and bottle down on the counter. “Mostly that it’s not doing what it needs to. I could’ve sworn the doctor wrote down an antihistamine, but my allergies aren’t any better when I take it.” 

“That_ is _odd,” Kai agrees, leaning forward. “Let’s take a look.” 

On her way towards the back door, Moon thinks she hears Mrs. Lo mention something about “terribly long nosebleeds,” but then she passes by a shelf to see all the pill bottles just slightly askew, as though they’d been rummaged through. 

“Why are you still here?” Kai comes walking into the back, carrying Mrs. Lo’s pill bottle, and Moon gestures for her to come over. 

“Doesn’t this section seem off?” Moon asks, swearing it was much better organized this morning. 

However, Kai raises a brow. “Not really...? I can reorder it if you want.” Moon looks back at the shelves, opening her mouth to argue, to swear that something’s shifty when Kai gives her a gentle push towards the door. “Now get out of here and go visit that mentor!” 

The back-door shuts behind her, and Moon sighs, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she tries to convince herself that Kai is right. After the fiasco at Po Town, Moon’s been on edge for the past few days, and it’s more likely than not that she’s trying to find danger where there isn’t any. 

As she walks to her car, she pauses by the alleyway next to the parking lot, swearing there’s a strange fog. She shakes her head, now thoroughly convinced that she’s being paranoid as she looks again and sees just the dumpster and a few boxes. She keeps walking to her car, setting her bag on the passenger seat and buckling up. 

When she looks in her rearview mirror to back out, there’s a figure in the alley watching her through green glasses. 

She turns to look, heart racing, but the alley is still empty. Her eyes narrow as she watches for any movement, but her phone buzzes. Once she’s sure there isn’t any sign of life, she tears her gaze away and digs her phone out of her bag, seeing she has a new text. 

**From: Lillie [16:43]**   
_Should I let the professor know you’re on your way?_

Moon feels her gut twist with something she’s avoided for years now. She sighs, typing out a quick response and deciding she needs to hurry up and get there, or she’ll never face him. 

**From: Moon [16:45]**   
_yeah, tell him the prodigal slayer is about to return_

* * *

_ “Moon, could you stay back for a moment?” _

_ It’s only her first day at __Melemele __High School, and already she can feel the target on her back. The other students whisper as she gathers her things and walks to the front, standing in front of her biology teacher’s desk. She knows all the rumors, and she’s already had this talk with three of her other teachers. Her English teacher went the sympathetic approach, probably thinking she’s just a troubled kid who needs someone to talk to, while her History professor puffed out her chest and tried to intimidate her into behaving, as though she hadn’t spent that entire class sitting politely and paying attention. _

_ She sighs, waiting until the last student filters out of the room to say, “If this is about what happened in Kanto, I-” _

_ “Have nothing to apologize for, cousin!” _

_ Moon blinks; she figured Kukui would go for something more understanding, but his response is downright exuberant. He grins, nodding as he crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. __“After all, how else were you planning to take out three covens at once?” _

_ “...oh no.” She remembers the letter from the Council that was in her room not an hour after they’d officially moved to __Alola _ _ , and her stomach turns. “No, they told me you were here but I didn’t think...” _

_ Kukui tilts his head, and she shakes hers. She looks at him, firm in her gaze. “Look, been there, done that with the Slayer thing.” _

_ Her biology teacher gapes, standing from his chair as he argues, __“But you’re just getting started.” _

_ It's true - she only felt the call two years ago, but considering she heard of a Slayer in Celadon who __kicked __the bucket __just six months on the job, two years is half a lifetime. She rolls her eyes, muttering, “Well it already got me _ _ expelled from my last school__.” _

_ “Because your Watcher wasn’t able to step in.” __Kukui stands, and goes to the locked door next to his supply closet. She watches as he unlocks it, knocks against a certain section of the wood, and the door slides open to reveal a display of weaponry: crossbows, daggers, long wooden stakes, and even a mace. He turns to look back at her, gesturing to the equipment. __“Here, I can train you.” __His voice softens in the face of her cold expression, and she feels her skin itch at the sheer earnestness when he tells her, __“I can help you.” _

_ “You want to help?” She grips the strap of her backpack tighter, letting her fury _ _ shove her __guilt__ aside__. “Take care of it yourself and just treat me like any other student. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but I didn’t sign up for this. Is it so wrong to want a normal life where I can live past the age of twenty and not have bloodsuckers breathing down my neck?” _

_ He deflates, and she can see the hesitancy in h__is__ eyes. It’s enough to make her falter, as she realizes he’s the first person who knows her status who also sees her as the child she is. Still, he takes a deep breath. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, cousin.” _

_ The fury is back as she tilts her chin up. “Well, then do what you do best and watch, because I’m making it simple.” _

_ She turns on a heel, ready to walk out of the room as he calls after her, desperate, __“Alola needs you!” _

_ “No, __Alola _ _ needs a Slayer.” The bell rings, and she stops in the doorway, turning to look at him as her Watcher one last time, her voice dropping and eyes plea__d__ing. “I’m not her.” _

_ And she walks away. _

* * *

The wooden stairs and patio creak under her footsteps as Moon approached the front door of the beach house. She raises a hand to knock, but stops herself, biting her lip. 

_ He has every right to be upset with me. _

When she was in high school, he never was. Though he tried a few more times to get her to really claim the Slayer title, to fight the darkness in earnest and not just the few times it was unavoidable, in the end Kukui treated her like all his other students. He’d greet her in the hall with a smile, answer her questions about homework, and never once did his kindness waver. 

In the two years she attended Melemele High School, he was the only teacher that ever really believed in her. 

And part of her thinks that he might have been a great Watcher. 

_ But I said no, _she thinks with a sigh, _And __now I’m crawling back. _It hurts her pride a little to think of it that way, and that makes it all the more tempting to turn around and get back in her car. However, she thinks saving the world probably outweighs her ego or guilt, and so she knocks on the door. 

A moment later it opens. 

“Hi Kukui.” They stare at each other for a moment, and Moon realizes he hasn’t changed much from her mental image. The soul-patch is still there, along with the safety glasses he seems to forget he has on. She swallows, mustering up a weak smile as she mumbles, “Been a long time.” He continues staring at her, and she fidgets under his gaze. “Listen, I-” 

His arms wrap around her in a loose hug, and she blinks, her body frozen for a minute before she slowly wraps her arms around him. 

He pulls back just a moment later with a genuine smile on his face. “It’s good to see you, cousin.” 

And just like that, he lets her into his house without another question or a single trace of betrayal. 

Her heart aches for something she didn’t know she was missing. 

“Lillie was just finishing going over all that she’s learned,” he explains as he leads them to the kitchen where she spots the witch sitting at the table currently strewn with tomes and documents. “We have another hour before my wife gets home and we’ll need to put this all away.” 

Moon sets down her bag and takes the empty seat next to Lillie, asking, “How did you end up under his roof again?” 

It was only after their group had woken up from their night in Iki Town post-Po Town that they realized Lillie was staying in Kukui’s basement. Moon had finally admitted to the others that they needed to get in touch with her Watcher if they wanted a serious chance of taking down the Skulls or Lusamine, and once she dropped the name, Lillie’s eyes widened. 

She explains, “Wicke was the one who helped me escape from Aether Paradise.” 

“She contacted my wife – Burnet used to work with Lillie’s father on the Ultra Space project. We think that may have something to do with the dimension Lusamine is trying to reach.” Kukui places a glass of water down for Moon before he takes a seat, explaining with a nod, “When Wicke said one of Mohn’s kids was in trouble, we cleaned out the basement.” 

“And I’m still grateful,” Lillie mumbles, but when she opens her mouth to continue, Kukui holds up a hand to stop her and chuckles. 

“Considering you’re on the team to stop an apocalypse, I think I’m the one who should be grateful here, cousin.” 

Moon takes a sip of water, looking between the two before her eyes settle hesitantly on Kukui. “So you’ll help?” 

“Of course!” His smile grows slightly smaller for a moment, and there’s a wistful undercurrent in his tone as he turns his gaze to the table. “I’m always here to lend a hand.” 

The ache is back, and Moon wonders if it’s possible to really be nostalgic for something you never had. It certainly seems possible in this moment as she thinks back to the run-ins with vampires and demons she had in high school, and wonders if the fear and the trepidation would still be there with someone so openly supportive in her corner. 

Whatever regret she has can be dwelled on later, though, as she remembers their deadline. “In that case, I have a few questions I wanna run by you.” 

Kukui smiles. “Shoot.” 

“Is it possible for a vampire to have a soul?” 

“Huh.” He sits back, crossing his arms and chewing his cheek in thought. Moon watches, and notices that Lillie is tilting her head in thought as well, puzzling over the question. Kukui stands, mumbling under his breath, “Y’know, I had...” 

He goes to one of the half dozen bookcases littering the living area, fingers brushing against the spines of books until it settles on one that he pulls out with a grin. “There it is.” When he comes back, he sets the novel down in front of Moon, who picks it up as he explains, “There are a few historical cases of vampires who have either gained souls through powerful magic, or who maintain their souls through an act of human connection or purity at the time of their transformation.” 

_ Studies in the Humanity of the Occult _isn’t a particularly large book, but it’s obviously aged from the yellowing pages and publishing date from the last century. Moon is careful as she skims, taking in the ink illustrations and reading blurbs about strangely human incubi and morbidly moral vampires. 

Lillie’s eyes widen with the realization as she mutters, “Gladion.” Moon gives her a nod, still turning pages, as the witch looks over at Kukui, who looks between the two in confusion. “You recall I told you my mother turned my brother?” After he nods, she continues, “He took my place. She was going to turn me as punishment, but he convinced her to take him instead. Would something like that...?” 

The Slayer pauses in her light reading; Gladion mentioned being turned, but he failed to ever mention that he did it to save his sister, which is a far cry from the tough as nails persona he’s been giving off. 

“Just might.” Kukui nods, searching the stacks of papers and finding his notebook, jotting something down as he thinks out loud. “Of course, to be sure you’d have to compare his behavior to other vampires.” 

“Definitely gives me more Catholic guilt vibes than id-driven vampire,” Moon chuckles, closing the book and passing it off to Lillie, who eagerly begins going through it. “He hasn’t bit anyone, just happy enough with the donations I can sneak him from Hau’s contact. I mean, he doesn’t do laundry nearly enough but besides his roommate etiquette-” 

“Wait.” It’s the closest that Kukui’s voice has been to stern, and it makes Moon and Lillie nearly flinch, both of them sitting up a little straighter. The Watcher looks at his charge with wide eyes, trying to not lose his cool as he asks, “You’ve had a vampire living with you? For how long?” 

She shrugs, a sharp contrast to his bewilderment as she can’t help but roll her eyes. “Like three weeks. Are you going to snitch on me to the Council?” 

“Council?” Lillie parrots. 

“The central authority on Slayers – at least, they consider themselves to be.” Kukui’s words are drowned in disdain as he explains with a sigh, “In reality, it’s a bunch of old men who pick and train Watchers, then assign them to Slayers. They also maintain the official Slayer guidelines, a rulebook that hasn’t been updated in at least a century.” 

Moon blinks, more than a little surprised at finding a Watcher who isn’t a devotee to the Council. Her Watcher back in Kanto, a stoic old man, was more than willing to kiss their boot and always had some strong words for her if she ever went against the rules of the Slayer. He just about had an aneurysm when she set the gym on fire. 

“Not a fan of them?” 

“Never was.” As quick as it came, the anger slips from his face, the furrow in his brow softening but still there. “Just concerned for your safety.” 

Lillie quickly chimes in, “I know my brother may come off aggressive, but I assure you, he has no interest in hurting Moon.” 

Moon nods, chuckling, “Besides, he’s a total wuss compared to those Skull-” 

“_Skull?” _

The kitchen is deathly silent, and Moon bites her lip as Kukui seems downright frantic at this point. He shakes his head in disbelief, his head in his hands as he groans, “Moon, _ please _tell me you haven’t gone anywhere near the Skull coven.” 

“...you didn’t get to that part of the story, Lillie?” 

Lillie shakes her head sheepishly, and Kukui goes about three shades paler as he looks up at her, Moon explaining, “Look, they kidnapped Sun and didn’t leave me any choice, but we got out of there in one piece.” She glances at Lillie, who raises a brow, and adds quietly, “Mostly.” 

“The Skull coven is notorious amongst Watchers,” Kukui explains gravely, “Their boss, Guzma, has made a name for himself by killing Slayers, and frankly I’m surprised he hasn’t gone after you yet.” 

Moon and Lillie timidly lock eyes, until the Slayer chuckles uneasily. “You know, it’s funny you should say that...” 

At this point, she’s surprised Kukui’s jaw hasn’t physically hit the floor. He shakes off his shock, sitting back and rubbing at his temples as he takes in this flood of new information. It’s one thing to realize your charge is looking to tackle the occult again, and another entirely to realize she’s almost died in the process already. 

He opens his eyes, a corner of his lips quirking up weakly. “Well, the good news for you is I absolutely can’t tell the Council about this, otherwise they’d have my head on a platter.” 

“What exactly is it about Guzma that makes him so strong?” Lillie asks softly, pencil poised above her own notebook. 

“In a word, practice.” Kukui frowns, and it’s clear to both the young woman that this is a question that’s haunted him for some time now. “I’m sure he feeds constantly, though I’m not sure the exact methods as to how he became so much stronger than other vampires beyond the typical means of honing his powers and hunting.” 

“Not to mention the weird pincer arm.” 

Lillie’s pencil comes to a halt and Kukui’s face twists in confusion. “The what?” 

“His hand, just kinda...” Moon brings her index finger and thumb together in a pinching motion, but quickly stops when she realizes that the witch and Watcher are only growing more bemused. “It was like something Hala or the other druids could do. Is that new?” 

Kukui is quick to add it to his notes, nodding as he mumbles, “From the reports I have on him, yes.” 

“And it sounds like something my mother was trying to accomplish.” Lillie’s eyes grow cold and distant as she stares at the table, unseeing and caught in a memory. “After she was bitten and realized she had retained her witch powers, she became obsessed with creating what she called the ‘perfect monster.’ Her work has always focused on genetic mutation and manipulation, but if this is her handiwork then it’s gone much further than I thought.” 

“Guzma mentioned Lusamine gave him the ability,” Moon chimes, bits and pieces of that awful night coming back to her and sending a shudder down her spine. “He said she had more in store for him in exchange for taking me out.” 

Lillie’s chair scrapes against the floor as she stands, heading towards the basement. “Excuse me, I know I have a file on this from Aether.” As she walks out into the living room and towards the stairs, her hands fidget with her hair as she mutters just under her breath, “Oh this is so much more intricate than I imagined.” 

That leaves Moon and Kukui to sit at the kitchen table in silence for a moment, and the Slayer is painfully aware of just how awkward this is without their buffer. 

She taps her fingers against the wood of the table, but when she glances up at Kukui he’s deep in his notes, flipping through pages and circling something. She chews her cheek for a moment, wracking her mind for something to say and finally settling on, “Are you still teaching at Melemele High School?” 

He nods with a smile, pausing in his search to look up at her. “And I’m still technically your Watcher. Lillie mentioned that you’re just here to stop Lusamine, but listen cousin, if you ever need anything,” he tells her, and when he looks at her it feels like he’s seeing right to her soul and giving it the same type of warm, welcoming hug he gave her on the front porch as he says, “I’m right here for ya.” 

Moon didn’t grow up with a dad. 

Maybe this is a little what it’s like to have one. 

She shoves that thought far down (because Watchers are decidedly not father-figures, after all). Still, she gives him a smile, and that ache has transformed into a pleasant warmth in her chest. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

And she sits and waits with him for Lillie to come back. 

* * *

_ The Watcher must never interfere with the work of a Slayer, instead remaining in the background so as to avoid possible harm and forming too deep of an attachment. _

_ After all, we are all too aware of the life expectancy of the average Slayer. _

** _ Doctor _****_Gramtapen’s_****_ Grimoire, 1_****_st_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

“Delivery for Rosemary’s baby.” 

Gladion blinks away the last of his nap, hearing the front door close as the faint smell of blood drifts to his nose. He sits up, rolling his neck and shoulders as she grabs a mug and straw, setting them down next to the blood bag on the counter. 

He gets up, muscle memory kicking in as he recognizes the routine they’ve settled into. All in all, besides the scare she gave him after Po Town, things have been better. They’re not all that much closer to stopping his mother, but at the very least Moon has loosened her grip and they’ve both settled into cohabitation. He cuts a corner of the blood bag with a pair of kitchen scissors and carefully pours the contents into the mug, absent-mindedly asking, “How was work?” 

“Weird as hell.” She sets down her bag on the table, pinching the bridge of her nose as she explains with a groan, “Everyone’s prescription was off and we can’t figure out what happened.” 

The vampire looks at her over his shoulder with a raised brow and a smirk. “Tylenol crisis all over again?” 

Moon shakes her head as she turns to put her house keys on the hook by the door. “Except I’m convinced they all got switched with blood thinners. Everyone’s coming in complaining about bleeding longer than usual, but who would-” 

She turns to see Gladion sipping on blood through a straw, and the last puzzle piece clicks into place. “_Oh_. Oh my god I’m an idiot.” 

“Finally, you realize it.” When she scowls, he responds with a lopsided smile. “What about?” 

“I think I know who’s switching out the pill bottles, but I don’t know how to prove it.” 

He shrugs, taking another sip of blood. “Want me to hack into the pharmacy security camera?” 

She pauses, watching him for a moment as her eyes grow wide. “You can do that?” she whispers, realizing that while she might’ve finally figured out that a soul is what's holding him back from being a true vampire, there’s still so much she has left to learn about Gladion. 

“I was part of an evil vampire coven, of course I can.” He rolls his eyes, and she opens her mouth to argue – because that’s not obvious at all, what sort of vampire coven has an IT department? – when he walks back towards the couch, setting his mug down on the coffee table as he asks, “What’s the timestamp?” 

“Try three days ago, starting after six o’clock." She opens her bag, reaching in to pull out her phone and toy with it, opening up her contacts and scrolling. 

"It’ll take a while,” he mumbles, pulling open his laptop and only pausing in his typing to pick up the mug and take another sip. “And what exactly are we looking for?” 

“I’m not sure.” 

Gladion gives her a deadpan look, but she misses it as she chews her cheek in thought and stares at her phone screen before deciding that her instincts can’t be wrong and pressing the call button. 

“But I know someone who does.” 

* * *

"There!” 

The screen pauses on a grainy, black and white shot of the pharmacy backroom. Moon looks over Gladion’s shoulder, pointing at a mist forming by the back door. 

He’s less than impressed. “Get a dehumidifier.” 

But Moon shakes her head. “I swear I saw something like that when I walked out of the pharmacy the other day.” She turns to look at Kukui, who's staring at the screen intently next to her. “Does it look like anything to you?” 

“Y’know, it actually does.” He strokes his chin with a hum, pulling out his phone and opening the app he told her about earlier; apparently, he’s working to put the grimoire into the 21st century, as a sort of digital encyclopedia of the occult. He scrolls for a moment and then clicks on the entry, passing the phone to her as he explains, “Some vampires, through extensive training, can take the form of mist, while still being able to produce any objects they were carrying before. The mechanics of it are a bit tricky considering it’s all magic, but it seems to me you have a vampire messing with medicine.” 

She shakes her head, passing the phone onto Gladion so he can read as she explains, “Not just messing with it – they're trying to get everyone on blood thinners. This isn’t a mix-up, it’s meal prep.” 

Gladion scoffs, handing Kukui his phone back. “_That’s _the plan? It sounds like some sort of conspiracy theory from the–” 

With wide eyes, the vampire mutters under his breath as he opens a new tab and types a web address quickly. He searches through the blog, clicking on a post and turning the screen towards the other two. Moon reads aloud, “Musings on making the extraction of blood even simpler for the vampirically inclined.” 

“Title could use an edit,” Kukui snorts. “Who is this?” 

“My mother’s branch manager, the only vampire stupid enough to go through with this.” 

Kukui turns to Moon with a smile. “Sounds like you have a vamp to stake.” 

Moon looks at the other two with a raised brow, the challenge all too clear in her eyes. 

“Just me?”

* * *

Paliuli Pharmaceuticals has been dark and quiet for hours now. A clock fills the empty space with its ticking, as every window and door are shut tight and locked. 

At just past two in the morning, a fog rolls in under the back door. It coalesces into a small cloud, traveling down the aisle and slowly rising to a shelf. 

“Looking to refill a prescription?” 

The Slayer steps out of her hiding spot with crossed arms. The mist pauses, and then with unnatural speed begins moving to the back door, only to be intercepted by two more figures. 

Gladion and Kukui come out of hiding, holding the box fans the pharmacy usually keeps in the break room for staff, both plugged into an extension cord. 

“Cool little trick you have,” Moon chuckles, slowly pulling the stake out of her back pocket, “Too bad all it takes to mess it up is a strong breeze.” 

And the Watcher and vampire turn their fans on, sending the fog spiraling and dissipating. The trio watch as it struggles to maintain form and fight against being pushed closer and closer to the Slayer. Once Kukui switches his angle, forcing more of the mist to separate in increasingly inconvenient directions, it coalesces and drops a single vampire on the floor of the pharmacy. 

Gladion smirks. “Hi Faba.” 

The pale man rubs at his head, adjusting large green spectacles as he struggles to stand, clearly dizzy from the gust. His gaze settles on Gladion with a sneer. “Well, if it isn’t the _ young master.” _

“Young master?” Faba’s legs are swept out from under him, and he lands on his back to look up into Moon’s smirking face. “Kinky.” 

His eyes widen as he screeches, “You! Guzma was supposed to handle you, but I told her he’s useless; of course, she doesn’t listen to me, nobody listens to me.” 

“Fair, considering you won’t shut up.” Moon twirls the wooden stake in her hand, giving the vampire a wink as his skin grows impossibly paler at the sight. “Let’s fix that.” When she dives down to drive the stake through his heart, however, his body evaporates back into mist, surrounding her for a moment before heading back towards the door. 

Only for Kukui to hold up his fan, still on, and take out a spray bottle filled with holy water. He sprays a mist in front of the fan pointed right at Faba’s fog, and it’s only a matter of seconds before they hear the vampire shriek, materializing once more and hitting the ground. As his skin continues to sizzle, Moon lunges and stabs him right in the chest, his body turning to dust. 

They turn off the fans, and Gladion steps forward to stare at the dust. Moon stands and looks up at him with something halfway to a smirk. “Sorry for killing your mom’s employee.” 

He snorts, rolling his eyes. “She should’ve fired him years ago.” 

“Think she’ll be mad?” 

“Furious.” His green eyes cut through the dark with an impish spark. “It’ll be great.” 

Moon chuckles, looking behind him to Kukui and giving the Watcher a nod. “Good work out there.” 

“Yeah?” Kukui grins, and there’s a vibration in the air around him that reveals his excitement. “I think I like being out in the field occasionally.” 

Both of them see it coming, but are powerless to stop him as he lifts the box fan in his hand and his smile nearly splits his face in half. “You could say I’m a..._real fan of it.” _

As Kukui laughs at the synchronized groan that escapes Gladion and her, Moon almost regrets making him a part of this. 

Almost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we were slacking on the dad puns and some lore exposition, so of course we have to bring science dad into the mix
> 
> this chapter also has Gladion's first (and possibly only now that I think of it) pop culture reference, and of course it's something horribly morbid. he's great for morale.


	5. me and my boo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains stylized text! a direct transcription is available at the bottom

[[♪ Bury Me Face Down - grandson ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbqnmvLPKE)

Hau is a man of simple pleasures. 

Part of it stems from the fact that he’s a nature spirit – at least, it seems that way to him. He loves the feeling of sunshine on his cheeks, soft grass under his feet, and he doesn’t even mind waking up early to tend to Tapu Koko’s shrine if it means he gets to listen to the island wake up. 

It also means he gets to go to the Thrifty Megamart on Melemele before the rush. 

The chain superstore has only recently opened its newest location on Melemele, and though it’s quite a bit smaller than the flagship store on Akala, it’s more than serviceable and includes one of three things that consistently give Hau joy in life: taro chips by the Alola Kettle Chip Company. 

They’re not quite as good as a malasada, but they certainly make the early shift worth it, and he’s just run out of them at home. 

He whistles as he walks down the street of Hau’oli City, waving to the owner of Melemele Apparel, one of the regulars at Hala’s bar. “Aloha!” 

“Aloha kakahiaka, Hau!” The man, Akamu, pauses in lifting the aluminum roll-up door of his store, giving Hau a wave before a frown. “You headed for the Thrifty Megamart?” 

Hau grins wide, not quite picking up on the trepidation in Akamu’s voice. “You know it!” 

“But it’s closed.” 

His grin drops as quickly as his stomach. “What?” 

Akamu nods, jerking his chin in the direction of the Thrifty Megamart as he explains, “Whole chain closed down last night. Apparently, they have to investigate unusual activity, don’t know for how lo-Hau?” 

He’s off and running down the street, narrowly avoiding a mother with her stroller and nearly getting hit by a delivery van when he crosses the street. His sandals smack against the pavement as he mutters under his breath like a prayer, “Nononononono...” 

When he gets to the Thrifty Megamart, it’s indeed closed, with a notice posted on the wall. 

“Apologies to our valued customers,” he reads aloud, desperation in every syllable, “but all Thrifty Megamarts in Alola are under investigation to help improve security, and will be closed for the time being. We hope to re-open as soon as possible and apologize for the inconvenience. Mahalo.” 

His entire body freezes as he tries to remain calm, to not think about the fact that he won’t be able to get any taro chips for an indefinite period of time. 

The anguished scream he lets out a moment later can be heard all the way in Iki Town. 

* * *

**From: ****Hau**** [10:07]**   
_I’m calling an investigation on why all the Thrifty Megs have closed!!_

_ Hau _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Mystery Inc.’ _

**From: Sun [10:11]**   
_you made an entire group chat just for that?_

**From: Sun [10:11]**   
_speaking of, why didn’t we make a group chat before__? :__/_

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘Sun Fan _ _ C _ _ lub’ _

**From: Lillie [10:15]**   
_I’m sorry but what’s a Thrifty Meg? (^.^)_

**From: ****Hau**** [10:16]**   
_WHAT_

**From: ****Hau**** [10:16]**   
_w_

**From: ****Hau**** [10:17]**   
_We have to solve this stat!!!! I’m taking you to a Thrifty Meg immediately after they open again!!_

_ Hau _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Get Lillie to Thrifty _ _ Megamart _ _ ASAP’ _

**From: ****Gladion**** [10:22]**   
_How did you get this number?_

**From: ****Hau**** [10:23]**   
_Don’t you mean ‘__hau__’__??? :__D_

**From: ****Gladion****: [10:23]**   
_No._

**From: ****Hau**** [10:25]**   
_Seriously, doesn’t anyone have any idea why __Alola’s__ pride and joy is closed??_

**From: ****Hau**** [10:25]**   
_@Moon can you __make Kukui investigate__?_

**From: Sun [10:29]**   
_dude she’s at work, we’re just blowing up her phone __lmaooo_

_ Hau _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Sorry Moon!’ _

**From: Sun [10:3****1****]**   
_she’s __gonna__ be so pissed when she sees this on her lunch break_

**From: Moon [12:16]**   
_are you fucking kidding me you __guys_

**From: Sun [12:18]**   
_>:)_

**From: ****Gladion**** [12:22]**   
_Seriously, how did you get this number? I didn’t give anyone this number._

_ Moon changed the name of the group to ‘gladion is madion’ _

_ Gladion _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘I hate you.’ _

_ Hau _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Unresolved Sexual Tension’ _

**From: Moon [12:25]**   
_you’re all the worst_

**From: Moon [12:25]**   
_except __lillie_

* * *

Against all odds, Hau convinces Moon to get Kukui to investigate the Thrifty Megamart situation. 

And just about everyone is surprised when he actually finds something. 

They meet at Moon’s apartment later that evening to avoid making Gladion walk in the last of the sunset, and to avoid arousing Kukui’s wife’s suspicion, because as he put it, “She’d have more than a few questions for us, and I don’t think a ‘book club’ excuse will cut it.” 

Moon is still a little annoyed that her living room and kitchen have now become the go-to destination for occult discussions, but she lets everyone in with minimal grumbling and pours them a cup of tea. “You said you were bringing someone in to help?” she asks Kukui as he takes a seat at the dining room table along with Hau, Lillie, and Sun. Gladion stands off to the side, leaning against the fridge (and having to suffer a bad “matching body temperature” joke from Moon for it). 

Kukui nods, accepting the mug she’s just poured for him as he explains, “She should be here any minute, but she actually came to me about the strange supernatural activity that’s been plaguing Thrifty Megamart.” 

Sun raises a brow. “Do Watchers double as a complaint box?” 

“They do when you make yourself known to the occult community,” Kukui chuckles, blowing on his tea. “I’d like to think we should be doing a little more than just watching, after all.” 

Moon gives a light snort into her own mug from her place by the kitchen counter, and Sun hums in thought, but before he can ask any more questions, a light knock sounds from the door. Moon sets her tea down, about to go answer it when Kukui beats her to the punch, standing quickly from the table and mumbling, “That must be her.” 

He opens the door and a young girl, no older than fourteen, steps inside. Her purple hair is in a short bob, bangs held up with a gold clip, and though her clothing is tattered and patched in various shades of grays and blues, her smile is nearly as bright as the gold band around her upper arm. 

Kukui leads her to the table, pulling out his chair for her and grabbing his mug as he says, “Everybody, I’d like you to meet Acerola. She comes from a family of mediums who help maintain Alola’s graveyards.” 

“Hiya!” She gives a wave from her seat, looking around at the group with a mysterious sparkle in her eyes that’s nearly impossible to read. “Wow, Kukui wasn’t lying when he called you all a motley crew.” 

“You seem a little young for a medium,” Lillie mumbles, before realizing what she’s said and a faint pink overtakes her cheeks as she quickly corrects, “Forgive me, was that rude?” 

Acerola waves it off, shaking her head as she rests her elbows on the table and her chin in the palms of her hands. “Nah, people say that all the time! I just look really good for my age.” 

“Which is?” Sun prods. 

She shrugs and grins wider. “I forget!” 

They stare at her for a moment longer, but her smile never falters, and the silence starts to stretch into uncomfortable territory. Sun clears his throat. “So how do ghosts and graveyards connect with Thrifty Megamart?” 

“Well that’s because the first Thrifty Megamart was built on an ancient burial ground.” Acerola nods, growing serious for a moment, but then she blinks and it’s gone, replaced with her steadfast chipper. “I’m thinking all the phenomena that led to the other stores being closed is probably due to that. After all, it’s almost the anniversary of the first grand opening!” 

“I can do ghosts. Figure out what unfinished business they have or do a quick exorcism, no problem,” Moon mumbles, taking a sip of tea as she remembers the few past run-ins she’s had with spirits. It was rare, but back in Kanto she definitely had to help ghosts cross to the other side whenever she visited Lavender Town. 

Kukui hums, but shakes his head. He places his mug down on the table and opens the grimoire in the center to a page, Lillie taking a look as he takes out his phone and pulls up the entry, passing it around. “Nightmarchers are a bit trickier than your average ghost.” 

“They’re the spirits of fallen warriors.” They look over to Hau, who’s been uncharacteristically quiet and serious throughout this; no doubt he’s taking the loss of his taro chips incredibly hard. He adds as he passes Kukui’s phone to Sun, “They tend to get spotted around Tapu Koko’s shrine, but we usually leave them be.” 

Sun passes the phone immediately over to Gladion, who takes it and reads the entry carefully. Kukui explains, his gaze on Moon, “You generally don’t wanna mess with them, cousin. If you look in their eyes, they can drag you to the spectral plane, forcing you to walk with them for eternity, unless you have family amongst their ranks. Then they’ll spare you.” 

“Family.” Gladion snorts, heads turning to see him frowning. “How is that defined?” 

Kukui smirks, nodding at the vampire thoughtfully. “That’s the question.” 

“Better safe than sorry!” Acerola watches the phone be passed to Moon before turning her eyes back on the others and explaining slowly, “Avoid looking at them – you'll want to get on the ground, on your stomach, and breathe shallowly. Don’t look up no matter what, okay?” 

Sun raises a brow, looking around to see if the others are just as confused as him. “Then how are we supposed to get rid of them?” 

Acerola leans over in her chair and flicks his nose with a giggle. “If we had the answer, then this wouldn’t be any fun.” 

As he rubs his nose, Sun opens his mouth to argue but Hau interrupts, “I have ancestors who fell during that battle. I can negotiate with them.” 

Gladion rolls his eyes. “We’re going to try and negotiate with a bunch of angry soldiers?” 

“Sorry you can’t stick your fangs in a problem and call it a day.” 

The vampire glares at Moon, who only smirks at him over the rim of her mug as she takes another drink. Before he can open his mouth to snap something at her, Lillie softly intervenes, giving her brother a warning look to bite his tongue. “It seems to be our only option.” 

“Don’t worry, my uncle Nanu can help you, too!” Acerola sits up straighter, chest puffed out with pride as she explains, “He’s an officer, and he’s been on the case. I’ll make sure he’s there to greet you all when you get there tonight.” 

Lillie blinks, her voice wavering. “Tonight? Shouldn’t we put a little more time into planning?” 

“You could, but they’re just getting angrier and angrier. I think your best shot to avoid dying immediately with them is tonight, as soon as possible.” Though their faces grow pale, Acerola only smiles brighter. She gets up, walking towards the door and turning to look at them as she chirps, “You guys got this, right?” 

Sun looks around at the others, watching as they all come to accept that Acerola’s right with a few hums and grunts. He turns back to the medium with a thumbs-up. “Just call us the Ghostbusters.” 

Acerola giggles, giving them a wink before she opens the door. 

“That’s the spirit!” 

* * *

_ You may be tempted to use an Ouija board, but it’s been proven as the most inefficient method of communicating with spirits, especially those that are bad at spelling. _

** _ Exorcism for Dummies, 12 _ ** ** _ th _ ** ** _ Edition _ **

* * *

Their shoes slide into black sand as they walk, the ocean roaring softly behind them as Moon and Hau lead the way with two flashlights to guide their path. Night has long since fallen on Ula’ula island, but the beach itself still seems alive, as small crabs and bugs skitter out of the beams of the flashlight, flickering movement on just the corners of their vision. 

The abandoned site of Alola’s first Thrifty Megamart sits at the top of the hill, jutting slabs of concrete and pavement lining the way. From what they can see of it, the walls are mostly intact, but parts of the roof have caved in, and at least three of the large windows have cracked. 

Sun shivers, wrapping his jacket tighter around his body. “Why does this place give me the creeps?” 

“Ghosts have several defenses to ward off trespassers, Nightmarchers doubly so.” Gladion rolls his eyes as he mutters, “You would know this if you actually read Kukui’s entry on it.” 

“Reading’s for chumps.” 

Gladion stops walking, taking a moment to stare at Sun in dumbfounded awe. The young man looks back with a satisfied smirk, and the vampire simply shakes his head as he continues walking up the hill with the others. “Please don’t pass on your genetics.” 

Sun follows behind him, mumbling under his breath, “Guess a soul doesn’t keep you from being rude as hell...” 

The sand under their feet gives way to more solid ground, and peppered along the incline are large pieces of upturned concrete at jutting angles, leftover from the road meant to lead to the Megamart. Moon sighs as she manages to climb over the last slab blocking their way, shining her flashlight around to see discarded shrapnel. She turns, telling Hau as he helps Lillie climb up, “I forgot how trashed this place is.” 

“Part of it was the construction company,” he explains, pulling Lillie up by the hand she offers, “But most of this looks like something Nightmarchers would do.” 

Sun and Gladion bring up the rear, joining them at the top just as a soft meow comes from the side. Hau shines his flashlight towards it to reveal a tabby cat with a mangled eye watching them by a fallen section of chain-link fence. It gives a harsher meow as a calico cat pads out of the darkness and over the fence to join it. 

“Not going for stealth, then.” 

They jump, Moon swinging her flashlight back towards the Megamart to find a man leaning against the wall with crossed arms, surrounded by at least four other stray cats. His short gray hair is receding, eyes drowning in dark circles. The police officer uniform he wears is disheveled, the jacket hanging open, and it feels a few decades out of style. 

Lillie is the first of their group to recover, walking closer to him with a small smile and an outstretched hand. “You must be Nanu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Nanu glances down at her hand, up at Lillie, then at the others before he sighs, “No, it really isn’t.” Lillie slowly retracts her hand as he shifts his weight, the calico cat from earlier walking to sit directly in front of him. He jerks his chin towards the chained door of the abandoned Thrifty Megamart, frown deepening. “The Nightmarchers are active tonight. Can you handle it?” 

“We could always use a little help,” Hau says with a smile and a more than implicit request. 

The cats begin weaving their way between the group as they walk back out into the darkness. Nanu stands, sliding his hands into the pockets of his trousers as he grunts, “I’ll keep watch.” He gives the stunned group a wide berth, only looking back when he’s several yards away. 

“Good luck. You’ll need it.” 

They watch him walk with his horde of cats in silence, before Moon sighs, the others turning to see her grimace. “Anybody else thinking we should call it a night?” It’s not like her to want to break a promise, but she’s still not entirely sold on reclaiming her Slayer title (and after Po Town, she’s not even sure if she can). The fact that their biggest help is turning out to be a complete weirdo who just walked away seems like the cherry on top of the Regret Sundae. 

However, Gladion is brushing past her with his hands in his jacket, barely stopping to kick open the front doors, the iron chain snapping from the force. “Let’s just get this over with,” he mumbles, walking into the Thrifty Megamart and not bothering to check that the others are following him. 

Sun and Moon exchange a raised brow – Moon mouths something suspiciously close to a sarcastic “he’s so cool” – and then they’re heading in after him, Lillie and Hau close behind. 

About three steps in, both flashlights go out. No matter how much Hau and Moon shake and smack the flashlights, they refuse to turn back on; at one point, Moon actually shatters the glass lens of her flashlight from a particularly annoyed hit against her palm, and Gladion muffles his snicker. 

She hears it and throws him a glare in the dark. 

A cold wind picks up, and Sun retreats further into his jacket, his voice betraying his panic as he chants, “Dope. Dope, dope, fucking _ dope _ situation we’re in right now.” 

“Just a moment.” Lillie’s voice is soft but steady in the dark, and a minute later an orb of flickering blue flame hovers above her outstretched palm, lighting her face and the surrounding area in a dim, unearthly glow. She slowly lifts it up, letting it float past them and summoning another two to try and light up the store. It’s dim, but it’s just enough so that they can all see each other and most of the ransacked and destroyed interior. With a hum, she mumbles, “It’s usually more powerful, but it seems their dark energy is affecting it.” 

They begin poking around, sticking close together as a group as they scan the place, careful to avoid the holes in the floor. Hau hears some sort of movement by a shelf that’s fallen over, and calls out, “Aloha!” Seconds later, a rat scurries out from under the shelf and disappears into a corner. As the others continue their search, the druid continues yelling into the dark. “Hello?” 

Sun wanders off to the side, towards an old display table with a few stuffed animals still left over that smell of mildew. He grimaces, and tries not to shiver when he passes one on the ground and the beady, black eyes of a doll with a vacant smile and missing arm stare up at him. Turning away from the definitely haunted dolls, he spots a blue, plastic tarp being held down by a few rocks in the corners. It clearly sticks out from the cracked linoleum floor and patches of dirt, and so he walks towards the five feet by five feet of blue plastic. 

The others can hear the rustle of the tarp being removed, and just as Moon turns to ask her younger brother what he’s messing with, his scream pierces the air. 

“Holy shit!” 

He falls back on the ground, scrambling backwards with wide eyes and a racing heart as the others run to see what he’s found. When Lillie leans down to ask if he’s all right, he keeps staring at the pit he’s uncovered, pointing. 

They step closer, Lillie’s orbs of blue flame crowding around them to light the dirt pit and reveal a partially uncovered skeleton, skull broken and half the bones missing, with a bronze shield resting on top. Hau kneels down to take a closer look as Sun manages to stand again and join them; he can just make out the carvings on the shield as a retelling of the battle between the tapus and the sky invaders. 

Gladion frowns, unable to take his eyes off the skeleton as he sneers, “Who uncovers an ancient burial site and then leaves it?” 

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than the ground beneath them rumbles – more of the dolls that Sun passed fall off the display table. Their group struggles to remain steady, Lillie losing her concentration on the orbs of light, leaving them in darkness once more as their ears pick up on the sound of thousands of marching feet and spears clashing against shields. 

Moon looks at Gladion, swallowing her fear. “Someone who can’t compete with an army.” 

Remembering Acerola’s warning, all of them except Hau quickly get on the ground, lying down and resting their heads on their crossed arms, eyes closed and breath shallow. Past the blood rushing in her ears, Moon can hear the marching slowly coming to a stop, and she can feel the air itself rolling and growing heavy, like a thunderstorm is brewing. Something pokes her side and she shuts her eyes tighter, not daring to give in to curiosity and look. 

They speak in one voice that is a thousand voices, a collection of war cries that pierces skin and settles in the marrow of bones. 

Y̵̞̻̜̰̎Ô̸̢̧̨͎͓̆̒Ű̸̙̾͝ ̶̥͉̬̣͆̊̓Ď̴͇̯̞͛͌̋A̶͓̳̓͗R̵̢͎̭̾͂E̵͙͓͋͑͂͐ ̵̯̖͎̄̇̚D̷̼̃͠I̵̢̢͈͂̃͘S̶͔̦̒̕T̶͎͇̹̋Ư̶͇͇͙̺̄̌͠R̵̡̮̝̣͖͐̂B̸̹̘̙̘̌̾̔͊ ̷̮̽̌̂Ư̶̡̥͒͝Ŝ̶̝̙ 

Hau tries to remember to breathe. He’s used to the few Nightmarchers that may walk through Tapu Koko’s shrine, but this is a huge mass of bodies that aren’t quite here and aren’t quite human. Like smoke, they expand and fill the room, then contract and form shapes that he can barely discern in the dark. Their eyes, however, glow pure white, all focused on him and unblinking. 

He swallows, clearing his throat and grounding himself, reminding himself that he’s just as connected to these islands as they are, that though he might not show it, he’s just as powerful. “We’ve come to help. I’m Hau, I–” 

They double in size, building like a wave, and Hau realizes he’s the shore they’re going to crash into. 

W̸̩̻͓̲̓̔̋̚͜E̷͈̊̍̈͒͂ ̵̩̘͙̖̆K̴̡̦̩̜̾Ņ̷̰͈̥̇Ô̸̹̎͜͠Ẅ̷̧͕̖́͒̄̂͘ ̶̡̜͍̂͝W̵͍͐̈̓ͅĤ̸͔O̵͇̰̪͎̒͋̇̾͋ ̸̻̘̹̲͙͆̎̌Y̶̛̼̙O̷̞͎͝͝U̴̡̘̦̲͋͝͠ ̴͉̾̈̏̾A̷̖̬͈̿̃̓̕͘R̵̥͆̽Ȩ̸͇̬̖͛̔̋͠ ̴͈͍̯̰͖͂͆G̶̛̯̟̫U̵̼̟̪̺̓̋̇͌̅Ȁ̵̱̔̕̕R̷̢̦̣̳̊̆̔Ď̴̹͙̌͐Ǐ̶͈͎̲̎Ȃ̶̩͋͠N̸̝͑̏̈́ ̴̢̰̬̝̰̊Ö̶̺̉F̴͕̪͚̜͌̐̇͝ ̵̨̱̃̍͠T̷͓̉̆̈͛Ä̴̢̝́̓͜P̸̨̛̻̉̋͐͝Ų̴͇͉̤̓̈́͝ ̷̮͉̺̯̂̌̅͑̓K̷̡̠̀͑̔̚̕O̵̹͍̕K̵̬̉̈́̚O̴̧̹̙͉͐̽̅ 

Despite the instinct telling him to shut his eyes, he keeps watching them, able to let out the breath he’s holding when they recede a little once more. He glances over at the four others on the ground, and sees three or four (or seven) Nightmarchers weaving paths between them, occasionally jabbing at someone with the blunt side of a spear, or grazing a hand along the back of someone’s neck. 

Still, the others remain still, but he can see that Sun’s patience is growing thin and his leg is starting to fidget. For as long as Hau’s known him, the young man has had an insatiable hunger to know more about the supernatural and magical, and Hau realizes that if he doesn’t hurry up, the Nightmarchers are going to realize it, too, and claim their next victim. 

“Why are you unable to rest?” he asks them, trying to make his voice match their boom. 

The cold night air suddenly grows iron hot, and Hau feels like he’s been shoved into a crucible, his body being squeezed tighter by some unknown force. 

T̶̻̞̖̗̂͆̊H̷̲̎I̸̝̲͓̥̮̾̈S̶̩͔̦̊ ̴̖̓̏͘W̷͕̺̜̠̪͌̒͘A̵̱̼̥͂͘Ṛ̸̤͍̋̓̍̂̚R̴̘̻͒͛́İ̵͇O̴̧̗͊̑R̶̨̯̜̤̊ ̸͚̪͉̞̜̄̿̄̂̆Ḩ̵̪̙͊͒A̷̢̨̻͑̔S̸̭̯̾͊͊̆ ̵̳̫̗͐͒̈́N̷̢̐̕O̶̼͌̒͒̚͜T̷̛̩̅̃ ̵̣͉͕̈́̐͌̍B̵̛̹̰̭̲͝Ẽ̴̩͉̼̐̄̊̚Ḛ̵̹̟͂Ņ̵̖͙̖͚̾̐̽͘ ̷̱̱̫̮̞̉̉͐̈̐H̷͓͚̋̈́͛͛͜Ō̷̥̝̜̌̍̎N̵͇͑̑̅͜͝O̶̘̙̟͗̂̏͑͝R̸̺̺͑Ẹ̵͉̘̈̿̕ͅD̶̨̠̳͚͌̔̇ͅ 

He glances over at the pit they’ve just uncovered, the blue tarp crumpled off to the side. “The shield, right?” With a look at the Nightmarchers, he takes a step closer to the pit, explaining, “We can take that and put it–” 

Their incorporeal forms rush to intercept him, bringing a frostbitten breeze with them. They block his sight of the pit, eyes now burning red as they lunge out, hands reaching to claw at him as Hau stumbles back, clutching at his ears a moment later as the collective voice turns to a screech of metal against metal. 

Ö̵̧̤͓̮̜̊͝N̶̢̪̮͙̒̉̈̊͠L̷͖̐̒̈́̐͝Y̶͉̍ ̸̟̳̣̟̼̒͘A̷͖̰͒̐͝ ̵̙̄͐̕̚͝S̵͈̣̦͉̺̓O̶̪͎̥͐̚Ļ̵̱͕̫̾̌̇͘D̵̫̐̂Ī̶͓̓̏͘É̴̝̝́̂R̸͇̖̋͐͊̒ ̸̣̗̣̪͕̍M̸̨̥͜A̶͕̾͘Y̶̟͑ ̴͚̰̘̣̼͗͝͝T̴̘̞̬͗̋O̵̙͗̎U̴̗͓̒̏͐̌͘C̵̟̱̳̜͑̀̉͑H̵͓̞̮̖̏̊̏̈́ ̵̨̞͉̓̒̍̌͒İ̷̠͙̬͍̪͐́͑̚T̷͍̮̟̗̻͐͑̕ ̶̭̼̗͑̿̐͝Ȁ̸̛͔̺̇͊̕N̸͈̙̩̋̕D̴̘͗ ̷̡͕̗͛Y̸̺͈͎̅̍̎͗O̴̼̦̿̓͐̒̃Ų̸̘͖̫͙͋́̊̈ ̸̺̞̻̖̏̽͘A̸̾̓̕ͅR̸̡̡͙̼͇͋̌͘E̶̳͖̯͉͌ ̷̦͌̆̀ͅŇ̴̘͐̈́̚Ó̴̲͈͙̑̏͆̕T̴̤͗̄͒̄̚ ̷̛͇̝͆̊̌O̶͕̩͆͠N̷͉̒̀̇͝Ȩ̷̳́̅͊̎ 

Hau opens his mouth to speak, but they seem to suck the air out of his very lungs. A metal bar goes flying past, and he ducks as expired boxes of food and canned goods fly out of the freezer and fall off the shelves. 

While Hau desperately tries to regain his voice, the others can only hear the roar of destruction around them, can feel the wind picking up and whipping their hair. Moon’s mind races at the thought of them stuck in their own demise, trying desperately to think of something to save them. 

The Nightmarchers have grown louder, their voice cutting through the noise. 

Y̵̢̨̪̭̽͜O̷̧̠͇̠͉͑́͑͝U̵̪̼͑ ̷̺̜͗͜Ț̶̏̋̔͝Ę̴͔̬̤̙̈́͝N̴̺̋̍̉D̶̡͕̻̈́́̕ ̴̢̛̥̈́̒Ṭ̸̖̊́Ȏ̶̦̈́̕ ̷̛̜͈̮͕̹̋A̵̠̞͆͋͑͘͝ ̸̢̲̰̝̘̿̈́̕͘͠G̸̘̜̺̤̺͆O̷̧̯̿D̷̩̤͍̯ ̴͍͇͎̰̔̐͂͝O̷̯̪̞͉̎͒F̷̖̜̤̔͆̐͠ ̵̪̪͊̑W̶̹̖͛̆̈̾A̷̻̾́̇R̸̲̮͕̕͜ ̶̮̓B̷̙̈́́U̸̪͓̾͊T̵̠̈́͝ ̸̤̩̽̊̅̽̀Ỳ̵̰̗̚Ő̸̡̯̦͌̂̀U̴̲̹̝̦̥͌͆ ̴͔̥̼̑K̷̠̈́́̄̓̈́Ṋ̸̱͍̘̆̅O̴̲͖͚̿̽̈́͠ͅẂ̸̗̮̘͙́̋ ̷̧̹̩͌̆͆͘Ņ̷̫̭͌Ő̷̹̓̇͋T̸̡͙͙̱̿̊̊̋͑ͅḦ̴̝̺́͒͆̍̕I̶͎͒͐͋̚N̸̦̻͓̥̪̅̄͂G̸͔̔̏̚ ̸̥̘̞̉́O̷͙̮͇̾͑̐͋F̶͎͂̎̎̚͝ ̶͕̌̓B̷̰̳̊̉̂͘͝Ä̷̳͎͕̫͈̃͝Ṱ̶̱̓T̸̜̈́̾̚L̷͙͚͖̫̇͒E̵̩̱͛́̆̅͠ 

Moon thinks she might just die. 

The ground is shaking again, and she can feel the impact of a metal shelf hitting the ground reverberate in her chest and it pushes her voice out of her before she can think better of it, because damn it, she thought she would die before and she hasn’t and she’s not letting the others go down with her. 

_ “I do!” _

The world grows still. She takes a deeper breath, and the air is still humid and crackling but it fills her lungs. In the hum of the silence, Gladion’s voice dances in her head. 

_ Family. How is that defined? _

She stands, keeping her eyes closed as she steels her nerves to trust in her gut, to trust in her instincts, to trust in the lineage she has picked up despite never wanting it. 

Hau turns to watch her, lips falling in surprise. “Moon?” 

“What the hell are you doing?” Gladion snaps, very nearly looking up as he senses her standing. Despite the sting of anger, anxiety bleeds through his voice. “You idiot, get down!” 

But Moon ignores them, her hands clenching into fists, nails digging into skin, and she reminds herself that the Nightmarchers might be monsters, but she’s their bogeyman. 

And she opens her eyes. 

Immediately, there’s a pull on her very spirit as a Nightmarcher with a Tapu Bolo mask is inches from her face. It feels like she’s detaching from her own body for a moment, but she refuses to move, staring into the glowing eyes before her until she feels a spark, like recognition, and then a desperate pushback, her soul being shoved far back into her. 

They’re afraid. 

W̸͎̎̚͘͠ͅH̵̝̪̫̯̖͊͒̅̕Ö̸̪́ ̸͉̆͛A̴̳̬͎͋̎R̵̡̛͈̞̓͋̚E̵̳̪͈͌̈́͋͘͜ ̶̬͙̜̊̾̈́Y̴̘̟͔̞̾̑O̸̺̟͙̔͌̋̈́U̴͓̭̐ 

She raises her chin, watching bodies of black and gray smoke becoming smaller before her, more human. “I’m the Slayer, and I’m calling on my sisters in arms.” 

S̸͍͇̎̐̐̍͌I̶̼͎̳̭̓͆͒S̶̞̘̮̜̔̌T̸̜͓̍̉̔͝Ẽ̷̼͈͈͆̅R̵̖͐̉̒̿̎S̸̻̟̔͘ 

It’s equal parts question and accusation, as the wind picks up once more with a chill; they’re trying to call her bluff and she won’t let them. 

“They are the women who came before me and paved this path, and I know they continue to guide me from beyond.” 

B̶͉̒͛̐̓͂Ṷ̸̇͗͛̚Ṱ̶̹͉̹̊̾̇͝͝ͅ ̸̡̲͎̗͚͒̉͗͝A̴͓̓̋̑͝R̶͍̀͑͝E̴̙̪̮̣͕̔͛͗̕ ̵̘̳̭̠̫͋T̶̜͖̺̹͐̍̒̽̏H̶̟̿Ẻ̷̘̣̹̜̈̇̄Y̵̫̬͆̇̐̉͠ ̶̦̭̞̾̐̆͊͆O̷̹̤͐́F̴̻̙̺̦̳͊̉̆̔ ̷̥̭̻̋̿̃Y̶͈͉̰̘̼̏̂͠O̴̠̮̻̗̟̚Ù̷͎̚R̶̠̫̱͇̈́̑ ̴͇͌͑̋B̵͉̠̿͐̊̋̋L̵͇̥̳͑͑͜O̶̘͑̃̓O̴̼͓̫͜͠ͅD̸̬͍̿͝ 

“They’ve all spilled blood for the same cause as mine, in the same name as mine.” Her voice rises in volume, filling the space that the Nightmarchers once took up as she stares them down and forces their hand. “Would you deny me my family?” 

There’s a murmur amongst the ghosts, and the figures in the front dissipate, forming into a cloud with the others until a new frontline has formed of women. Moon looks at each of them, feeling something deep within her call to them and form a smile on her face. 

Their eyes are still a harsh glow, but the color is closer to candlelight. The thunder that accompanies their voice sounds almost like a laugh. 

Ỹ̵̹̠͎̓O̶̺̜̹̊̐̕U̴̱̎̾̚ ̷͔̯͔̂A̵̺͋͘Ŗ̸̖̭̃̈E̶̢̝͑͐ ̶̼͈̊̄A̶͜͝N̸̮̥̋ ̴̞̲͗̊I̸̡͆N̸͎͚͓̅S̵̡̛̗͎O̷͔̠̠̍L̷̫͂E̷̓̆͊͜Ņ̴͈̘͝T̶̼́ ̸̡̝̎̓͘G̶̟̱̘͐I̵̫̫͂̿R̵̖̿͋L̷̩̭̳̐̇ 

She can’t help the chuckle that escapes her. “Always have been.” 

The last of the static in the air becomes a hum in the back of their minds – the storm has passed. 

W̴̡̼͂E̶̫̖̅ ̶̛̳̅̽Å̶̯̙͖R̵̛̜̟̀̽ͅE̵̖͚̋͌ ̷̹̽̓P̶̢̬̙̈͂R̸͔͙̔̉O̵͓̅U̴̢͖̥̾͑͌D̶̲͒ 

“You should be resting after everything you’ve done,” she mumbles, her chest aching when she realizes that the smallest form is a little girl. She clears her throat, looking into the eyes of the one before her. “Let us handle the shield.” 

The hum grows louder, and the few Nightmarchers still wandering the store float to the central mass, their eyes disappearing for a moment as they seem to talk only with each other in a language that none of them can hear. 

Hau and Moon exchange a glance, the druid unable to muffle his smile as he mouths, “_ Good job _.” 

After another moment of deliberating, the eyes are back on them, and then the roiling smoke mass of bodies shifts, creating a path to the pit. 

P̵̬̜̍̋L̷̡͙͑͝Ã̸͕̹̓̋C̷͓̤̽E̸̞̭͂͒̉ ̴̟̘͈̊̕͝I̴̳͐̂͌T̵͚̺̜̑̓ ̴̼̰̔I̴̧̹͝N̷͖̹̋ ̴̡̺̓T̸̠̆̾H̴͓̱̏̅̓E̵̪̮̽͜ ̶̮͗̌͝Ȯ̴̧Å̶̢S̵̘̽͘I̷͎̜̓͜S̷͉͎͕̓ ̶͚̲̑̑Ã̸̞N̶̩̓͌̈́D̴͍͓̔̇͌ ̶̯̲͐ͅW̵̲͋͘Ẻ̶̦ ̶̖̘͐M̴̖͕̋ͅȀ̸̻Y̷̥̣̆̔ ̶̣̾̕R̸̖͂E̶̻̟͒S̸͕̓̆T̸̨̫̰̈͑͌ 

The Slayer waits a moment longer, eyes scanning the mass of warriors and only finding acceptance. She steps forward, careful when reaching down to grab the shield so that she doesn’t disturb the bones. When she stands with it in her hands, she gives a nod to the crowd of Nightmarchers. “You have our word.” 

And one by one, they evaporate until the air of the Thrifty Megamart is completely still once more. 

“Coast is clear, I promise,” Hau says, walking towards Lillie and holding out a hand to help her up. 

“Oh thank goodness.” She accepts his hand with a grateful smile, taking a moment to brush off her pants as she mutters, “I nearly started blindly casting spells to try and calm them.” 

Moon laughs softly, but stops herself when she catches Gladion’s eye and he’s glaring at her. He growls, crossing his arms with a shake of his head. “That was stupidly reckless.” 

She hums, giving him a mysterious smile that even she can’t decipher the meaning of. “Really? You're the one who technically gave me the idea.” He blinks, previous bluster forgotten as she looks to the others and lifts the shield to emphasize her point. “Come on, we have to put this in its proper place.” 

The others follow behind her, careful to avoid the new piles of shattered glass and smashed cans. When they step out into the night, a chorus of meows greet them, as Nanu stands off to the side by the chain-link fence, several stray cats lounging on a nearby concrete slab. 

“Look at that.” His voice nearly breaks its monotone to sound impressed, but his face doesn’t move an inch from its unaffected stare. “You didn’t die.” 

“No thanks to you,” Sun mutters bitterly. 

Nanu only shrugs. “Maybe.” 

Suppressing the urge to strangle the man in front of her, Moon grips the shield tighter. Her smile is stretched thin and her voice is on the border of being cordial. “They said we need to put this in the oasis. Do you know where that could be?” 

Without a word, the older man turns and begins walking, a few cats following, and the others disappearing back into the woods surrounding the abandoned site. The group follows after him in relative silence until they leave the black sands of the beach behind. 

When they’re back on the main path of the area, Nanu glances over his shoulder at them. “What are you all, exactly?” 

“We’re the Scoobies,” Hau proclaims with a smile. 

Sun grimaces. “Boo.” 

“The name is a work in progress,” Lillie says, sheepishness fading as they walk and she explains simply, “But we are working with the Slayer to help bring peace to Alola.” 

Nanu snorts, and it’s by far the most emotion he’s shown the entire night. "Peace – what a concept.” 

“Do you ever say anything that's not cryptic?” Gladion rolls his eyes, smirking when he hears Moon chuckle beside him. If Nanu hears him, he pretends not to, continuing to lead them towards Haina Desert. 

The palm tree comes into view first, and then they find themselves coming to a small pond at the entrance of Haina Desert, where a few trailers litter the outskirts and the grass begins to give way to harder rock. 

“Here you are.” With a final nod, Nanu turns and leaves the group, his steps not making a sound as his strays follow. 

Hau turns to give him a final goodbye. “Thanks, Na–” 

Only he’s gone, nothing but a trio of cats walking along the path in the night, and a cold wind blows. They stare at the place where Nanu’s figure should be, and Sun is the first to break the silence. 

“...so he was for sure a ghost, right?” 

A chorus of “yup” and “absolutely” sounds off behind him. 

Moon turns back to face the oasis, stepping forward and letting some primal subconscious knowledge guide her movements. She kneels down on the edge of the pool, and slowly slides the shield into the water, remaining on her knees as she watches it float for just a moment before it becomes a puff of smoke that floats into the night air. 

When she closes her eyes, she feels warm arms around her and a thank you on the breeze. 

* * *

Hau is a man of simple pleasures. 

So when he walks into Hau’oli City’s Thrifty Megamart the next morning, he has an extra skip to his step and sparkle in his eyes. 

He turns to Lillie with a smile as he leads her down the snack food aisle. “Told you I was gonna get you to a Thrifty Meg.” 

She gives him her own smile in return before her eyes return to roaming the linoleum floor and overflowing shelves. “I’m glad you did.” 

It just so happened that she was the only person willing and able to accompany Hau to finally get his prized chips – Moon and Sun have work so are unable, and Gladion is less than willing (or to quote him directly: “I would rather walk back into Po Town than your stupid chain store.”) 

Hau claps his hands together, Lillie laughing as he asks enthusiastically, “So? First impressions?” 

“Overwhelming,” she admits with a giggle, adding a moment later with a wistful smile, “But not unpleasant.” 

He laughs. “Hey, that’s the same first impression I give off.” 

Lillie blinks, shaking her head. “Oh no, I think you’re...” Her words trail off into a blush, and her eyes grow wide as she catches herself. Hau raises a brow, something flickering behind his eyes as she clears her throat. “Well, much better than unpleasant.” 

“And you’re real nice to say that.” He chuckles again, but it’s much less boisterous and something shifts between them as their walks slow. Hau glances up, quick to change the topic as he says, “There they are.” A few steps more and then he’s picking up a chip bag, rubbing it affectionately against his cheek, much to Lillie’s amusement. “Reunited at last.” 

The witch picks up a bag, her brows furrowed in confusion – for what must be the millionth time since she moved into Kukui and Burnet’s basement, she realizes just how much she missed of the world while growing up. “Taro chips?” 

“Only the best things ever – except for a malasada, obviously,” Hau explains, adding in a conspiratorial wink. 

But Lillie hesitates, biting her cheek and giving him a shrug. “I, ah, wouldn’t know.” 

“You’ve never had either?” She shakes her head no and bites back a giggle at his absolutely affronted expression. Hau shakes his head, bag of taro chips in one hand as his other gently takes hers, leading her back down the aisles as he laughs, “Well c’mon! We’re making a beeline for a Malasada Hut immediately!” 

She smiles, easily keeping up with his steps, and the two of them don’t notice the figure of gray smoke and glowing eyes of soft candlelight that watches them leave. 

It vanishes in a warm breeze that follows them out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nightmarchers transcription:
> 
> YOU DARE DISTURB US
> 
> WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE GUARDIAN OF TAPU KOKO
> 
> THIS WARRIOR HAS NOT BEEN HONORED
> 
> ONLY A SOLDIER MAY TOUCH AND YOU ARE NOT ONE
> 
> YOU TEND TO A GOD OF WAR BUT YOU KNOW NOTHING OF BATTLE
> 
> WHO ARE YOU
> 
> SISTERS
> 
> BUT ARE THEY OF YOUR BLOOD
> 
> YOU ARE AN INSOLENT GIRL
> 
> WE ARE PROUD
> 
> PLACE IT IN THE OASIS AND WE MAY REST


	6. sleep tight (and don't let the incubus bite)

[[♪ Even In My Dreams I Can't Win - Bad Suns ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFSvLf0hU00)

_ The hooded figure raises the stake higher as they chant, the other member’s voices echoing the Latin phrases. _

_ There’s a cruel irony to her being staked, but she can’t focus on that now – the timing has to be just right, and she can feel the weaker ropes binding her wrists beginning to snap. _

_ “Is this how you want to be remembered?” _

_ “Will they remember me at all?” _

_ Two flutes. _

_ Aqua vitae, in every sense of the word. _

* * *

_ She gazes out of the modest cottage window to the rolling hills, where the farmhand makes his way with a bucket of water from the well. He rolls his broad shoulders with the effort, __honey __hair blowing in the gentle breeze. Ever since her father fell ill, the young man has been loyal to her, even when she’s only treated him with apathy. _

_ He enters the cottage, setting the pail of water down on the table he carved for her. “Farm Boy,” she calls, watching as he looks up at her with delicate hazel eyes, and she motions to a shelf beside her. “Fetch me that pitcher.” _

_ “As you wish.” _

_ And as he stands next to her, reaching above him to fetch the pitcher, she realizes that every time he’s told her “as you wish” before completing one of her various demands, what he really meant _ _ to say _ _ was “I love you.” _

_ When he looks down at her now, the pitcher in his hands, she knows she’s _ _ correct _ _ by the fire burning in his hazel eyes. “Farm Boy,” she whispers, and he’s leaning closer as she closes her eyes and breathes, “Kiss me.” _

_ She feels warm, rough hands cup her face gently, and she knows that he’ll mumble the softest “as you wish” in her ear before finally their lips meet, and__– _

_ “I’m going to __eat you up.” _

_ Her eyes open and suddenly the golden farm boy has pink hair and a dark, hungry look in his eyes. “Pardon?” _

_ Then she feels something heavy on her chest, as it becomes hard to breathe and her body is paralyzed. _

Moon wakes up to a handsome face inches from hers with eyes of pure black sclera, and in the darkness of her room, she can just make out the same pink hair from the dream. It goes well with the darker pink horns protruding from his forehead. 

“Oh dear.” The stranger lifts his face slightly further away, tilting his head as he studies her with a furrow in his brow. “You’re a Slayer, aren’t you?” 

She nods, sitting up in bed. “Moon.” From this angle, she can now see the blackened hands, fingers extending into something like claws, and a rather ghastly pair of wings. Still caught in the in-between state of dreams and waking life, she hums through her foggy mind, “You’re an incubus, aren’t you?” 

He nods. “Ilima.” 

They stare at each other for a moment. 

Gladion shrugs on his jacket, preparing to head to Hala’s. He suspects the dive will be busy on a Friday night, but he’s hit a brick wall in his investigation of his mother’s plans. Try as he might to pin down the Skulls’ actual involvement in the plan, he hasn’t come up with much, and after the Po Town debacle, whatever contacts he had are firmly against speaking to him now. He figures now that the Slayer will actually let him leave her apartment, he might as well try and find Hau, and see if the druid has any leads on what Guzma, Plumeria, and the others have been up to ever since Gladion split ways with them. 

He’s just grabbed his copy of the apartment keys off the hook near the front door when a pink blur is launched out of Moon’s bedroom two feet to his right. 

Once the figure hits the living room wall and slides to the floor, Gladion can clearly see the wings and horns. He makes his way over quickly, but isn’t sure where to even _begin _here. Instead, he watches for a moment in confusion as the incubus – he faintly remembers seeing an image of something similar in one of Lillie’s books – rubs his head, glancing up at him before looking past him towards the bedroom doorway with an amused smirk. 

“Thing for blonds?” 

With his mouth falling open in a silent question, Gladion turns to see Moon walk out of her bedroom, clearly just woken up in her disheveled pajamas and a familiar spray bottle in her hand. 

Ilima lunges, drawing back a hand to ready a strike, but Gladion manages to grab him and hold him back for a moment. The incubus struggles in the vampire’s grasp, but then he’s expanding his wings, the force enough to knock Gladion off of him and onto the floor. 

When he’s just in reach of Moon, however, she lifts up the spray bottle and gives him a spritz of holy water. Upon contact, Ilima’s skin sizzles and he quickly backs away as the Slayer matches him step for step, giving another few sprays for good measure. 

Spirals of pink and black smoke begin to surround him as he hunches over himself, giving Moon a wink as he disappears before either of them can attack him again. “Dream a little dream of me, Slayer.” 

The apartment is quiet once more as Moon keeps her eyes glued to the spot on the floor where Ilima just was, and Gladion stands, readjusting his jacket. She hopes he can’t see the blush on her cheeks because there’s no way he doesn’t know that was an incubus, which means he’s _very _aware of what sort of dream she must have been having and she’s not prepared for that conversation. She turns on her heel, ready to head back into her room as she blurts out, “Okwellgoodnight.” 

She can’t see him but she just knows he has that damned smirk on his face as he mumbles, “Good dream, then?” 

“Isaid_goodnight _.” 

Her door slams, leaving Gladion in the living room to chuckle to himself. He realizes they now have an incubus to stop, which might be just the distraction he needs to help refresh his mind after a few days of coming up with nothing on the Skulls or Lusamine. 

As he heads out the door towards Hala’s to inform Hau of their newest target, he’s left with one question. 

_ What was that ‘blond’ comment about? _

* * *

“I’m sorry, a _what?” _

The basement that doubles as Lillie’s room is low on light, but definitely not enough to hide Moon’s blush as she mutters to Kukui, “Don’t make me say it again.” 

“Please make her say it again.” Sun laughs at his sister’s expense, delighting in how she scowls at him. It’s not often that he gets to see his ever laid-back and sardonic older sister flushing pink as a hibiscus, but having her admit she was visited by an incubus last night in front of all of them has her freckled cheeks nearly red at this point. 

While her brother may be loving this, Kukui shares the Slayer’s discomfort, clearing his throat as he pulls up the entry on his phone and passes it off to Lillie (who also has a faint dusting of pink on her ears and cheeks). “As far as incubi and succubae go, they aren’t usually much of a danger. They don’t need anything to survive, and they’re happy enough to just manifest certain...types of dreams, and cause the occasional bout of sleep paralysis.” 

“For the sexually frustrated.” 

This time, Moon ignores Sun, brows furrowed as she explains, “Ilima was more aggressive. Like, trying to eat my soul aggressive.” 

“It’s believed that younger incubi and succubae have some growing pains,” Kukui tells them, sliding his hands into his pockets and shifting his weight, “My guess is he’s still getting used to being a creation of lust and it’s uh, leading to some strange behavior.” 

Hau looks up from the phone, unable to wipe the smirk from his face as he asks, “Like puberty?” 

“Never thought of it that way, but sure.” Kukui hums in thought for a moment before giving a shrug. “It should pass eventually.” 

Moon frowns, crossing her arms as she leans against the wall next to Lillie’s shelf of ingredients. “But I’m supposed to kill him.” 

“Isn’t that your job description?” Gladion mumbles, unsure what to make of her disappointed tone. 

A corner of her lips quirks up. “Technically my job is a pharmacist – this is an unpaid internship at best.” Then the bitterness is back, and she looks to the others for support as she explains, “Besides, we just said he’s going through puberty. I didn't murder Hau or Sun in high school and I had to witness every stage of teenage boyhood go through them.” She gestures to the two young men, who share a look and consider it a fair point when they remember the learning curve of hygiene she had to endure. 

Gladion, however, is unconvinced, and feels his anger flare (in place of his concern). “Why are you defending someone who tried to kill you?” 

“Why are _ you _ living and teaming up with someone who tried to kill you?” she counters, and he opens his mouth only to close it in defeat. Moon shakes her head, voice growing small as she looks down at her feet. “It just doesn’t sit right. Not when he can’t control it.” She grips her arms tighter, eyes narrowing as she whispers, “Not when he has a name.” 

Quiet overtakes the basement, heavy and almost solid as the words settle on the minds of everyone else. The longer they think on it, the more it seems that there’s no good answer to the moral dilemma, to the question that truthfully, none of them have thought to ask until this moment. 

What does it really mean to kill a monster? 

Chewing on her pencil, Lillie is the first to break the silence, thinking out loud, “I wonder if there’s a way to subdue him without causing harm...” She looks up to Kukui, who’s leaning against her desk, half of an idea lighting her green eyes. “Can he hurt people outside of their dreams?” 

The Watcher starts to answer but stops himself, realizing he’s unsure and picking up the grimoire next to him. He quickly flips a page, scanning it before he replies with a note of surprise, “Only Slayers and other magical creatures.” 

“Then there might be a way to work out an alarm system, of sorts.” 

Hau nods, seeing what the others haven’t quite caught up to when he turns to Lillie. “Like how owners put bells on their cats to alert other animals?” 

“Precisely!” The light bulb is practically visible above her head as she snaps her fingers, dropping her pencil and standing from her spot on her bed to go over to a bookshelf, rifling through her books until she finds the one she’s looking for. Hau follows her, peeking over her shoulder just as she looks up at the others and explains, “It may not be a perfect solution, but I can have something ready in an hour or two.” 

As those two seem to block out the rest of the world, Hau pointing at something on the page and Lillie whispering, Sun turns to the others, clapping his hands together and more than ready to be a part of the action. “Can we lure this guy back?” 

“They tend to pick their favorites and give someone a few recurring dreams.” Kukui glances at Moon, a little proud as he says, “Considering you managed to hit this one, I think he should be back tonight, cousin.” 

Sun pumps a fist into the air, a look that means No Good on his face as he cheers, “Sleepover at Moon’s!” 

Kukui laughs at the enthusiasm, but ultimately shakes his head. “As much as we want to help, an incubus specifically goes for someone who isn’t surrounded by a lot of people, so we may just scare him off. It should just be Moon and Gladion.” 

Moon shrugs, standing up straighter and stretching her arms above her head, trying to get her blood flowing again after standing still for so long, and shake off the last of her earlier philosophical quandary – they don’t really cover what to do with those in the non-existent Slayer handbook. 

“Besides, I can handle it by myself.” 

“I’ll be the judge of that.” 

She turns to look at Gladion, and his face is nearly stone except for the flicker of something lively in his eyes. With a chuckle, she takes a few steps closer to him. “Trying to pick a fight?” 

He shrugs, and the flicker is now a flame that jumps into her own eyes as he drawls, “I just don’t believe that you’re actually training.” 

With her chin lifted and her hands on her hips, she can’t help but grin. “You’re on, MCR.” 

* * *

_ We found that the incubi and succubae we had gathered were more than willing to talk – it was getting them to stop flirting with the researchers that quickly became an issue. It is for this reason that we must unfortunately say our study was compromised. _

** _ A Freudian Analysis of Incubi and Succubae, University of Transylvania Press _ **

* * *

Gladion feels himself slam against the padded ground, vaguely aware that if he still needed to breathe that the air would be knocked out of his lungs. He opens his eyes, looking up into Moon’s smirk as she pins him to the ground, and he feels just a tinge of embarrassment. 

“...best four out of seven?” 

It’s honestly a shock to him that he’s only gotten the better of her once during their sparring; it's possible in his confidence that he forgot he’s dealing with a Slayer, someone who even at a biological level is supposed to be stronger than him. 

She chuckles, shaking her head as she lets go of his wrists and stands. “We’ve pushed our luck enough that no one else has tried to use the gym,” she tells him, and it’s true. Luckily, no one else in her apartment building is looking to work out at seven p.m. in the basement gym, so they haven’t walked in on two overpowered beings knocking the shit out of each other for two hours. 

“Just admit that I’m getting back in shape and you’re looking a little weak.” She holds out a hand, her olive branch, and he accepts it as he stands, quickly letting go when he becomes wrapped up in his own thoughts. They retrieve their phones from the bench they left them on, Moon content to glow in her victory and Gladion hunched over in his reflection. 

He frowns, following her out of the gym and up the stairs of her building to the second floor where her apartment is. “How am I supposed to help take down the likes of the Skulls, let alone my mother, like this?” he asks no one in particular, and he doesn’t even think she heard him until she pauses at her door, turning to look at him. 

“When’s the last time you drank from an actual person?” 

While he can survive on the smuggled blood that she can get him, they both know it’s not enough if he wants to be in fighting shape. It’s been a while since she brushed up on her grimoire knowledge, but Moon at least remembers that vampires require occasionally drinking from a living source, otherwise risk a weaker state – something about draining the life force of the innocent as a creature of the damned. 

It’s almost poetic. 

“Two months, considering you’re the one who was so adamant I don’t feed,” he explains, disdain evident. He pulls out his phone, checking the time as she opens the door. “It’s early, but if I head out now, I can probably take a bite out of some drunk before we fight the incubus.” When he glances up, she’s pulling a face, something crossed between thinking and smelling something awful. “What?” 

“I can’t just let you go prey on someone because it’d be convenient,” she says over her shoulder, walking into her apartment and hanging up her keys. He remains by the door, nonplussed as she crosses her arms and argues, “Besides, don’t you have a soul?” 

His eyes harden, flickering to the ground as something like regret passes over his face. When he looks back up, it’s not quite gone no matter how he tries to hide it. “I never said I felt good about doing it, but what choice do I have?” 

The words hang in the air for a moment as they look at each other, and Moon finds herself back in a philosophical rabbit hole. 

What does it mean to live with a monster? 

But he’s not a monster, not really, and she’s weaseled them into a catch-22. He walks past her with a huff, clearly aware and very annoyed that he’s not going to get through to her that easily. Instead, he begins rummaging for a towel in the linens basket he’s claimed for himself here, intent on showering off the grime of the gym floor. 

She watches the muscles of his back tense, and an idea slowly forms in her head. When he stands, she takes a deep breath. 

“How about me?” 

His brows furrow in confusion as he looks at her, and then they widen as his hands lose their grip and he drops the towel back into the basket. She holds his gaze, and he lets out an uneasy chuckle. 

“...you’re joking.” 

Except her face is dead serious when she shakes her head slowly. She crosses her arms, walking closer to him as she explains, “As a Slayer, I can’t let you feed on humans.” Her face shifts as she bites her cheek, her seriousness cracking to give way to her self-satisfaction. “But there’s nothing in the rulebook about a Slayer becoming a blood donor.” 

Technically, it’s not a half-bad plan. Simply biting her won’t turn her – she'd have to drink his blood immediately, and they’d complete a ritual he can’t quite remember considering he’s blacked out his own siring – and it even saves him a trip outside. 

Instinctually, however, it’s the worst thing she could’ve suggested in Gladion’s mind. 

“No.” He’s firm but it flounders when he fails to come up with any substantial argument beyond the fact that biting her_ just feels weird. _“This is...that's..._no_.” 

She calls his bluff, taking a step closer. “Why not?” 

“You realize that Slayer blood is...” He trails off, and she swears he’d be blushing if he had a beating heart. It’s far too amusing to see him get so flustered, and she bites back a laugh as his eyes avoid her face and he huffs. “I just don’t want to.” 

Moon rolls her eyes, almost ready to give it up, until she remembers the big competitive streak button she has yet to press. So far, he’s never backed down in the face of a challenge, and so she smirks as she says, “Don’t tell me you’re scared of me.” 

His eyes widen for a moment before they narrow into a glare; he knows exactly what she’s doing, and he still can’t help but fall for it. Scowling, he takes a step closer to her, still holding himself back. “You’re impossible.” 

“Then shut me up and do it.” To emphasize her point, she tilts her head to the side, stretching out her neck and watching his eyes glide over it. No doubt he can practically hear her blood pumping, and for a moment she wonders how often he’s thought about biting her while they’ve lived together. He’s far too adamantly against it to have never given it any thought (and Moon isn’t sure what to make of that revelation besides seeing it as another testament to his self-control). 

He hesitates a moment longer, and then closes the distance between them, suddenly very unsure of what to do with his hands. Moon’s starting to understand why he put up a fight, considering how awkward this is, and how much more awkward he’s making it by not looking her in the eye. 

Eventually, he settles on putting one hand on her shoulder and the other cradling the side of her head. He swallows, explaining, “The initial puncture will hurt, but–” 

“Then the endorphins kick in to keep your prey in place.” She hides her own trepidation with a smirk, her hands clenching into fists by her side. “I’m familiar.” 

There’s a moment when she thinks he won’t do it, that he’ll end up backing out, and then his fangs pierce the skin of her neck. 

She flinches, and it’s not enough to dig her nails into her skin, so she grabs his shirt instead as she squeezes her eyes shut. 

He has the audacity to smirk against her neck, pausing in his feeding. “Not used to pain, Slayer?” 

“I’m usually the one inflicting it, Nosferatu.” She can feel his lips pull into a scowl on her skin. Her hands bundle further into his shirt for a moment, a sort of useless display of her strength she realizes too late, and then she lets go, letting them drift back down to her side. By now, the tranquilizing elements have kicked in, and she feels herself getting more light-headed from the rush than the blood loss. 

It’s all going perfectly fine. 

Until she whimpers. 

A small, needy, and primal noise in the back of her throat. 

They both freeze. 

There’s definitely nothing in her training as a Slayer that’s prepared Moon for what to do when you get bitten and accidentally enjoy it a little too much, so all she can do is bite her tongue and focus her eyes on the ceiling. 

Gladion pulls back, and she makes the mistake of meeting his eye and seeing that he’s just as dazed as her, clearly thrown off by her reaction (which to be fair, isn’t uncharacteristic of someone bitten, but the fact that it’s _ her _is turning his universe on its head). 

She brings her hand up to the wound on her neck, part of her noting that it’s bleeding a little as she swallows. “Enough?” 

_ No. _

His soul pulls on the vampire instincts, and he nods slowly. There’s something else mixing with that instinctual answer, something that he’s not going to touch with a ten-foot pole, so instead he turns to walk to her fridge, saying stiffly, “Put a bandage on that. I’ll get you some orange juice.” 

It takes her a second to nod, going over to the cabinet under the kitchen sink to grab the first aid kit, head swimming in a fog with a new thought that pops up with a grimace. 

_ Hope that didn’t awaken anything in me. _

* * *

_ There’s a soft knock at her door, and Moon blinks her eyes open with a frown. It could only be Gladion, and she gave him the specific instruction to not burst in with Lillie’s alarm system until she gave the signal. _ _ But s _ _ he’s barely fallen asleep, much less seen the incubus yet. _

_ She stands, opening the door with a scowl. “This better be important.” _

_ “It is.” _

_ His voice is strange, somehow _ _ ; _ _ lower than usual, she thinks, and like an ember waiting to ignite tinder. She blinks away the last of sleep, and now she can see him leaning above her, an arm on the doorway as he gazes down at her, his expression as serious as always, but his eyes are much more intense at this angle. _

_ Neither of them speak for a long moment, and Moon clears her throat, praying her voice will be as acidic as she wants it when she finally speaks. “Well?” _

_ “I’m hungry.” _

_ He smirks at her, and she gapes, rolling her eyes. “Seriously?” Still, she tucks her hair back and exposes the other side of her neck, not putting up half as much of a fight as she probably should. “What happened to self-control?” _

_ Her breath hitches when his hands go to her head and her waist, just skimming her hip. It could easily masquerade as platonic, but then his voice is right next to her ear with a low chuckle _ _ . _

_ “It’s hard to control myself around you.” _

_ “Sounds like a ‘__you__’ problem,” she bites back, but it falls flat when they can both practically hear her heartbeat. Part of her thinks this might just be him messing with her, trying to get a rise out of her after she beat him three to one earlier today, but that does nothing to calm the torrent of thoughts. _

_ Sure, she’s known __Gladion__ is attractive, but as a passing thought, a first impression. It’s not anything she’s really dwelled on, mostly because they’ve been too busy fighting monsters and at each other’s throats. _

_ Except she just realized that she doesn’t mind him being at her throat at all. _

_ His fangs puncture the skin and then the rush settles in and she brings her hands up to his chest, fingers curling into his shirt and pulling him closer. To the untrained eye, it might look like she’s enjoying herself, but Moon knows it’s only so that he’ll actually drink enough this time. Just to be sure that he also knows this has nothing to do with the shudder of something warm down her spine, she huffs, “At this rate I’m going to die of blood loss.” _

_ He pulls back, but his lips still brush against her skin as he mumbles, “Want me to stop?” _

_ Her grip tightens on his shirt as she keeps her eyes on the ceiling. __“I didn’t say that, Blondie.” _

_ He laughs at the nickname, and she closes her eyes and- _

** _ Wait. _ **

_ Her eyes shoot open and her body freezes, because since when does __Gladion __laugh __at the nicknames she uses on him? _

_ She tangles a hand in his hair, whispering in his ear, “I want you to do something.” He hums, lips still on her neck until she yanks his head back so he can see her unamused glare. _

_ “Pinch me.” _

_ He falters, watching her hand slip from his hair to his shoulder. Moon smirks. _

_ “Because I must be dreaming.” _

_ And she _headbutts him. 

When she opens her eyes, she’s back in her room, very much awake and sitting up in her bed. In the dark, she can quickly make out Ilima’s figure as he crouches on the floor, rubbing his forehead. 

There’s a lot to unpack with that dream, and thank whatever is above that now is not the time to do that. 

Instead, she reaches under the pillow next to her where she’s stashed the spray bottle of holy water, jumping out of bed and giving the incubus several spritzes. He howls at it, but manages to stand up despite the pain, wings tucked in and legs shaky. 

The spray can jams, and try as she might, Moon can’t figure out how to fix it, especially not when Ilima is lunging for her as he yells, “Stop treating me like a misbehaving cat!” 

“Then you’re really not gonna like this next part.” She tosses the bottle over her shoulder, instead bracing herself as she places a well-timed kick to his chest, sending him flying towards the door as she calls out, “Now!” 

Just before Ilima’s body makes impact with her bedroom door, it opens, sending him into Gladion’s open arms, the vampire grunting at the force but managing to keep himself upright as he quickly latches a collar around Ilima’s throat. He stands, walking around to Moon’s side and raising a brow when she avoids his eyes. 

Ilima blinks, looking down at the baby blue collar, and poking at the bell with a black claw. “Am I your pet now?” He looks up, grin more than a little salacious as he purrs, “Is that what you two are into?” 

Moon ignores the comment, crossing her arms with a satisfied smile; Gladion’s confidence with his sister’s enchantments must have rubbed off on her. “That bell will wake up anyone you decide to get hot and bothered if you get too close, and if you actually attack-” 

He lunges, and right on cue the collar glows a bright blue, electricity flickering as Ilima freezes, more surprised than in pain as a jolt runs through his body. 

“Then it turns into a bit of a shock collar.” The Slayer steps forward, lifting her chin as she mutters, “Consider this your obedience training, and once you complete the course, maybe you can convince me to take it off.” 

She reaches out a hand and rings the bell with too-sweet a smile, the incubus gaping. Slowly, his face melts into an impressed half-smile, looking between the two before his eyes settle on Moon. “You’re really something, Slayer.” He steps back and the black and pink smoke is circling his body again, but just before he disappears, he laughs, “I don’t suppose we can start over and have me charm you without the bloodthirst?” 

“In your dreams.” 

And he’s gone with a final charming laugh, leaving the apartment in calm and quiet. Moon runs a hand through her hair, dropping her completely sure façade to let out a breath of relief. “Glad that’s over.” 

Gladion hums, turning to look at her as he asks, mildly curious, “How could you tell it was a dream?” 

_ Because __apparently, __I know you too well. _

She tells him instead, “I just could.” Stretching out her back, a yawn escapes her. “Well, I’m heading to bed. Text the others and let them know we’re all good.” 

When she’s just passed through the doorway of her bedroom, Gladion speaks up. 

“We still could have destroyed him.” She turns to find that he’s looking at her, face more serious and graver than she’s ever seen it, and his eyes are intent on finding something in her eyes. His gaze hardens as he says darkly, “He’s a monster.” 

It’s almost hatred in his eyes, she realizes, but it feels misdirected, projected. Her words are slow and sure when she replies, “He didn’t get any say in that.” 

He’s still searching her face, but he falters. “You have a soft spot for these guys,” he murmurs, a little unkindly. 

She straightens up. “I see the best in them.” 

“That could get you killed.” 

The words fall between them, clunky and crystallized and demanding their attention. 

But they’re words that she’s lived with her whole life. 

“It’s a wonder I’ve made it this long.” She says it like an inevitability, like she’s a walking memento mori, and in many ways, she is. With a sigh, she turns, leaving him to stare at her, lips parted at the shock of her reaction. “Goodnight.” 

Neither of them sleep well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you ever remember the inherent tragedy you've given your two main characters and then get a little sad? yeah
> 
> luckily the next few chapters will be more focused on other members of the gang to distract us from that


	7. sun of the dead

[[♪ It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M. ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OyBtMPqpNY)

Sun’s alarm goes off at 6:15 in the morning, and he’s one step closer to killing someone. 

He groans as he shuts it off, rolling over onto his back and staring up at the ceiling with a frown. 

Maybe it’s worth it to get fired for five more minutes of sleep, but then he signed himself up for the Monday morning shift and has no one else to blame. 

With a sigh, he kicks off his blanket and goes to his window, throwing open the curtains to see the sun peeking over the horizon as he mumbles, “Good morning, world.” 

But it feels like the rest of the world is sleeping. It must have rained last night, as water drips down his window and everything feels fresh. No cars zip past below, though traffic is never very heavy on Melemele Island. The few figures he sees on the streets are dragging their feet, clearly feeling just as brain-dead as he feels to be up this early. 

He takes a quick shower, brushing his teeth and throwing on his uniform as he brews a generous cup of coffee. When it’s done, he fills up his thermos and heads out the door of his apartment, taking a long sip as he walks to his car. As he unlocks the door and sets his thermos in the cup holder, he glances over to see one of his neighbors, an older man, walking out in his slippers to get the morning paper. 

“Morning Jacob,” he calls out, sliding into the driver’s seat as Jacob groans in response. “Yeah, I hear ya.” He pegged the guy to be a morning person, but it’s sort of nice to know he’s just as grumpy as everyone else. 

Sun’s drive to work is relatively uneventful, though a grandmother crossing the street seems to take absolutely _ forever _ to finally get out of the road. Otherwise, he gets to work with a few minutes to spare, half his coffee gone as he hops out of his car and heads into Melemele’s courier station. 

“Hello?” 

There’s no response as he walks through the backroom, going to clock in and hearing his footsteps echo in the space. It figures that the one time he actually manages to get to work on time, everyone else decides to take it slow in the morning. As he finishes up the rest of his coffee, he decides to pull out his phone while he waits for his supervisor to arrive and delegate his deliveries. 

It’s a little strange that he has twelve missed calls and thirty-five unread texts. 

Most of the missed calls are from Moon, and a few from Hau, but he decides to open the group chat first and read through the most recent messages. 

_ ‘__Hau __changed the name of the group to SUN PICK UP YOUR PHONE’ _

**From: ****Hau**** [6:01]**   
_Seriously dude, where are you???_

**From: Moon [6:04]**   
_sun I stg if you’ve already been bitten_

**From: Moon [6:05]**   
_please tell me you haven’t been bitten_

**From: Moon [6:12]**   
_pick up your phone and tell us where you are so we can get you, we already lost sight of __gladion__ and __lillie_

_ ‘__Hau __changed the name of the group to MOON WHERE ARE YOU’ _

_ ‘__Hau__ changed the name of the group to I HATE ZOMBIES’ _

**From: ****Hau**** [6:1****9****]**   
_Sun I’m holed up in the Thrifty Meg but I think they got Moon, get to Kukui at Po Town before_

Call it a hunch, but Sun thinks he may be in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. 

His stomach drops with each message, and when he checks the time, he realizes he needs to get to Po Town as quickly as possible if he wants to have any chance of still finding Kukui. It’s entirely possible he’s already fallen victim to the zombies, and Sun feels his stomach churn at the thought of what’s happened to the others. 

If they’ve been bitten, then it’s up to him to save Alola. 

And for all his usual confidence about saving the world, in the face on an actual apocalypse, Sun’s starting to think that Alola might be doomed. 

* * *

The journey to Po Town reveals just how far the outbreak has spread. 

Luckily, the courier office is right on the marina, and they have their own boats they use for deliveries, so getting to Akala Island is a relative breeze for Sun. The real challenge kicks in when he docks the boat on the beach closest to Po Town and realizes he still has half a mile on foot, and Akala’s larger population means that he’s facing twice as many zombies. 

And in his haste, he didn’t think to bring any weapons. 

He crouches on the speedboat, glancing over the side and taking count of how many lumbering zombies he can see. Now that he’s getting a good look at them, he feels at least a little better about his odds of making it to Po Town. The infected he can see have incredibly pale skin, gaunt faces, and eyes that are listless white sclera, but otherwise still look relatively human. They drag their feet, groaning occasionally, not seeming to look for anything in particular and never picking up their pace. 

_ I’ve played Left 4 Dead before, _Sun assures himself, bouncing in place as he waits for an opening, _These _ _ guys are no big deal. _

Another minute passes, and then he has a clear path to a cluster of boulders he can hide behind. So it goes for the rest of the way to Po Town, Sun carefully zigzagging his way past zombies, most of whom don’t see him, and those that do making a slow swipe at him as he ducks out of the way and keeps moving. 

He has about five zombies tailing him by the time he sees the walls of Po Town come into view. They’re not as far behind as he hoped they'd be, and the longer he takes to find an entrance, the closer they get. He wracks his mind for a way in, but last time he entered Po Town he was unconscious, and by the time he left, the main gate was busted wide open by Hala’s tribe. 

Now it’s barricaded and practically taunting him, but there has to be some way in if Kukui’s inside. 

There’s a guttural groan behind him, and without another thought Sun sprints forward towards the wall, knowing he’s got a small pack of zombies on his tail. He crouches along the perimeter until he sees a hole in the wall up ahead and climbs through, breathing out a sigh of relief. 

Until an ice-cold hand grabs his ankle and yanks. 

Sun yelps, falling with wide eyes. He turns, trying to kick at the zombie – a store clerk if the uniform is any indication – but she keeps an iron grip on him, trying to drag him closer as a few other zombies gather. 

Frantically, he looks around, hands patting against the earth. He nearly cuts himself on some glass shards and curses, but then just a little behind him his right hand feels something sturdy and wooden and he grabs hold. 

“Batter up,” he grunts, bringing the baseball bat around and managing to clock the store clerk zombie in the side of the head, the poor thing releasing him with a groan. Sun winces, realizing that crooked nails stick out of the end of the bat, which are sure to leave a mark. With a wince at moving his now bruised ankle, he stands and starts running towards the nearest abandoned building, shaking off the zombies that followed him. 

Po Town is eerily quiet with a heavy cloud cover and fog that hides what few zombies have managed to breach the wall. Sun’s grip on the bat tightens as he thinks, wondering where on earth Kukui could be. Hau’s text hadn’t said anything specific, but looking around, one of the only buildings that Sun can see through the fog (and the only one that’s familiar) is the dilapidated mansion he was held hostage in. It’s as good a guess as any, and so he starts walking towards it slowly, readying the bat and keeping his ears perked for the slightest disturbance. 

He hears voices, and realizes he’s near the main entrance of the mansion by now. To his left, past the makeshift fence of hedges, there’s an argument, and Sun immediately recognizes one of the voices as the vampire who captured him – Plumeria. 

“I’m just saying, the whole thing is overkill, Guz.” 

“Look, she wants the Slayer and the rest of the brats out of the picture.” He hears shuffling footsteps on the other side, enough to cover his own as he slides closer to listen better as Guzma mutters, “And what better way than to take out all of Alola?” 

“With a spell we barely know anything about. Hell, she’s a witch, we should’ve consulted her before trying to pull this.” 

_ Lusamine__,_ Sun realizes, _Although, __she doesn’t seem to have much control over these guys. _

“You questioning my authority?” 

Guzma’s voice is sharp enough to draw blood, but Plumeria’s roar is bruising. 

“What’re you gonna do about it?” 

Sun’s seen vampires fight before – shortly before setting the high school gym on fire, actually. He hears the hiss of snakes and knows they must both be showing off their fangs, getting ready to pounce. Still, it’s hard to make out what’s happening exactly, and he doesn’t dare risk taking a look over the hedge. 

As quickly as the noise of a scuffle starts, it stops. One of them spits. 

“Look, all I’m saying is we should’ve just gone after the girl. Something simple.” Plumeria sighs, long and loud, dragging out her voice as she says, “But no, you want to impress the mad scientist.” 

“Jealous, Plums?” 

There’s a second of silence, and though Sun still can’t see anything, he can definitely _ feel _vitriolic anger coming from the other side of the bushes. 

“This shit is reversible, Guzma. All they have to do is–” 

“I’m tired of your nagging.” Sun feels his face fall into a deadpan glare towards the hedges, because of course Plumeria gets cut off just before he can overhear the solution. _ That would just be too easy, wouldn’t it? _

Footsteps grow faint, and Sun leans in, trying his best to hear Plumeria as she yells, “What, you running off to Lucy? Leaving us with the mess so she can give you another freaky arm?” A door slams, and then Plumeria’s voice is growing fainter as she must be following after him. “Don’t fucking walk away from me, Guzma, not after last night!” 

_ Well now I wan__t to__ know what happened last night. _

He’s about to give in and look over the hedge for some sort of clue (mostly about what’s going on between these two, but if it also helps stop the zombies that’d be great), when a hand clamps over his mouth and another on his shoulder, someone dragging him back into the mansion and covering his cries for help. 

* * *

_ A good attitude in the face of a zombie outbreak is of the utmost importance! Do not forget your manners, lest you find a way to reverse the curse or virus and those you may have bashed over the head with a slab of wood remember after they regain their humanity. _

** _ The Little Witch’s Guide to Etiquette, 3_****_rd_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

For about five seconds, Sun is convinced he’s about to be turned into a zombie. 

Then he’s dragged into a corner of the Shady House and a familiar voice says, “It’s me, cousin.” 

_ Kukui. _ The hands are off him and Sun turns to see the Watcher giving him an apologetic smile. Sun gapes, trying to keep his voice down to a harsh whisper. “Were you trying to give me a heart attack?” 

“Sorry, but we don’t have much time.” As if to prove his point, Kukui turns to the door closest to them, opening it and motioning for Sun to follow, along with a finger to his lips. The two descend the stairs, Kukui jamming the door shut behind them with a chair, and Sun gets a stomach-rolling déjà vu from the last time he was in this basement. It feels even emptier than before, with a few dim light bulbs lighting the space and moldy cardboard boxes in the corners, but the chair that he was tied to is gone, the center space cleared out. 

Only when they reach the bottom of the stairs does Kukui turn to Sun, asking, “Did the others explain what’s going on?” 

Sun shakes his head, one hand on his baseball bat (and it’s his now, he figures) not unlike a cane. “No, but I overheard the Skulls. They’re the ones behind it, and it’s reversible, but I don’t know how.” 

“That’s about how far we got.” Kukui sighs, gesturing to the empty space in the center of the room as he explains, “We also realized that since the spell behind this was originally cast here, we should be able to reverse it here as well.” 

Technically, it’s not actually an empty space as Sun realizes a giant circle has been drawn in chalk, littered with various symbols and sigils around the edges. He tilts his head, thinking it might help him decode it. 

It doesn’t. 

“Lillie managed to figure out the antidote, so to speak, but before she could cast whatever she was planning, Gladion was attacked and, well...” Kukui’s voice trails off with a shudder, and Sun feels bile threatening to rise at the thought. 

“So it’s just us?” 

“Just us.” The Watcher reaches into his coat pocket, carefully unfolding a few sheets of paper and passing them to Sun. “And Lillie’s notes.” 

Just from a quick glance, it’s clear that Lillie rushed to write everything down. Her handwriting is sloppy cursive, several things are crossed out and rewritten, questions marks abound, and there doesn’t seem to be a complete thought on any of the three pages. Sun sets the baseball bat to the side and begins shuffling between them, glancing from paper to chalk circle to try and make sense of what Lillie’s plan was. Kukui mentions what he’s been able to decipher: the original outbreak used a mass weather spell, so the cure should reflect that, but he’s not sure which symbols need to be adjusted or to what end. 

As Sun scans through the pages, he stumbles upon a phrase that’s been circled several times and underlined. He reads aloud with a raised brow, “’Aqua vitae, in every sense of the word.’ What does that mean?” 

Kukui sighs, bending down to pick up the stub of chalk that Lillie used to draw the circle. “Your guess is as good as mine. I know ‘aqua vitae’ literally translates to ‘water of life,’ but it’s usually in reference to liquor.” 

“Could use some of that right about now.” The two share a smirk, but drop it when they hear something banging against the door. Sun grips Lillie’s notes tighter in one hand as he walks towards where the baseball bat is leaning in the corner. “What was that?” 

Before he can reach the bat, Kukui stops him, forcing the piece of chalk into his hands as he walks to the staircase, picking up an iron pipe by the last step. “Po Town isn’t as secure as we thought.” 

The banging on the door gets louder, and they can hear several zombie grunts along with a few fading screams of Skull grunts. Kukui gives the pipe a quick twirl, a satisfied smirk on his lips as he begins climbing up the stairs. 

“Where the hell are you going?” Sun gapes, jogging up to the staircase, but Kukui’s already made it to the door. 

He looks back down at the younger man, one of his hands on the chair jamming the door. “I’ll hold them off, but I need you to complete the spell. Lillie said anyone, even a non-magic user, can do it.” 

“You can’t just leave me here,” Sun argues, but Kukui is already putting the chair aside, using his body weight to keep the door shut for a few moments longer. As Sun watches him, he struggles to articulate the very real fear coursing through him; sure, he’s been in sticky situations before, but he always knew Moon was going to bust through the door and save him. After all, she’s the Slayer, the Chosen, and he’s, well... 

“I’m the dumb one!” 

It doesn’t feel good to say, but it certainly feels true right now. He’s been kidnapped twice in the past month, doesn’t bring any expertise to the group (besides a good attitude), and it took him almost an hour to realize the zombie apocalypse was happening. 

All in all, not a great day to be Sun. 

But Kukui smiles down at him, giving him a chuckle as he says simply, “Now we both know that’s not true.” 

And then he’s opening the door, shutting it tight behind him and leaving Sun alone in the basement. 

“Shit.” He glances down to see that he’s still holding the piece of chalk and Lillie’s notes, and with the last of his brain cells evaporating, he can’t make sense of any of the writing. He turns back to the circle, pacing as he mutters to himself, “Shit, shit, shit, okay, breathe...breathe.” 

Closing his eyes, he does his best to block the moans of the undead, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. When he opens his eyes, he goes back to the papers in his hand, flipping through them slowly and examining the circle more closely. He can pick out a few symbols, recognizing sigils for cloud, water, and sky – it's a rain spell specifically, he realizes, but surely the cure can’t just be a little water. 

That circled phrase repeats in his mind, and Sun _ knows _it has to be the key to all of this if Lillie was so adamant in highlighting it. 

“Aqua vitae...in every...water of life...against the undead, holy shit that’s it!” Sun lets out a breathless laugh as the realization dawns on him. “Alcohol really does solve all my problems.” 

There are two symbols next to “aqua vitae” in the notes, and Sun realizes it must be a translation of the phrase for the spell. With the chalk in his hand, he quickly finds the water symbol again, adding the symbol for life next to it before glancing over the circle as a final check. It feels like everything’s in place, but nothing’s happening. He goes to stand in the middle of the circle, in between where two smaller circles are drawn, but still nothing changes. 

The door at the top of the stairs slams open. 

“Oh no, no, no, no...” Sun turns with wide eyes to see a trio of zombies at the top of the stairs, groaning as they catch sight of him. He flips through the notes, managing to find a rough diagram of the circle of symbols and deciphering Lillie’s cursive to see that she’s written “hands” with an arrow towards the two smaller circles. 

He abandons the notes as the zombies descend the stairs, slamming his hands down into the circles as he closes his eyes. “Please work!” 

Thunder roars above him. 

* * *

“So you’re welcome.” 

Sun finishes up his retelling of the day’s events in Kukui’s basement, glancing around the room and feeling more than a little grateful that the faces around him are completely human and recognizable. After the weather spell worked and Sun managed to lure the zombies out of the Shady House, it only took an hour or so until Alola went back to normal, its residents more than a little confused about what had happened (and why their clothes smelled a lot like alcohol). 

Kukui, after being transformed back to human, was able to quickly reconvene with Sun, and the two made their way out of Po Town along with other confused residents. The Skulls apparently decided to remain hidden from the humans, though Sun swore he could hear a very muffled “damn it” from the Shady House as they crawled through the hole in the wall. 

It took a little longer to get the rest of the group back together, but now they’re safe in Lillie’s room at Kukui’s house, all with a slight case of amnesia after recovering from being zombies. 

“Color me impressed.” Moon gives him a smile, hair still wet from the liquor rain as she laughs affectionately, “My baby brother saved the day.” 

Kukui nods. “I knew you could do it.” 

Lillie lets out a breath, tying her own wet hair up into a bun as she says, “I’m glad you were able to decipher my notes. A modified weather spell of that scale isn’t the simplest thing to pull off.” 

Sun grins, more than happy to soak up their praise. Sure, he didn’t do it the most elegantly, but when push came to shove, he saved Alola from a zombie outbreak. 

All in all, not a bad day to be Sun. 

Hau interrupts his mental self-congratulating with a raised brow. “But did you have to keep the bat?” 

Sun glances down at the nail-bat currently in his hands before looking back up at Hau, face dead-serious. “Yes.” The others exchange glances, mostly worried, and Sun’s eyes flicker over to Gladion, the vampire standing alone in a corner with his arms crossed. When their gazes meet, he clears his throat, prompting, “Well?” 

“What?” 

He rolls his eyes at the blond, accusing, “You’ve been on my case from the beginning about being the dumb human. A little apology is in order, don’t you think?” 

Gladion furrows his brows, voice less acidic than usual and more surprised as he says, “I never thought you were dumb.” As Sun continues to stare at him, he sighs, knowing he’s not going to get out of this unless he sings the young man’s praises along with everyone else; to be fair, even Gladion knows it’s warranted. “But yes, you did a good job. You’re surprisingly competent.” 

“That’s about as high of praise as you can get out of him. Anything more and he may have an aneurysm.” Lillie giggles at her older brother’s insulted expression, and the others join in on her laugh. 

Hau grins, hopping out of Lillie’s desk chair as he cheers, “C’mon, I think we could all use a little more aqua vitae after today!” The others mumble their agreement, deciding to climb the ladder to the outdoor cellar exit rather than the stairs to the living room. Once Gladion and Lillie are up and Moon begins climbing, Hau turns to look back at Kukui. “You wanna join, Professor?” 

“You go on ahead.” He nods, explaining, “Burnet and I are going out to dinner.” 

Moon pauses in her climb up, throwing a smirk over her shoulder as she chuckles, “We’ll get you drunk one of these days.” 

Kukui laughs and she climbs up, Hau about to begin his ascent when he notices someone else hanging back. “You coming, Sun?” 

“In a minute.” He nods, and Hau climbs up, leaving the two humans alone in the basement for a moment. Sun turns to the Watcher, swinging the baseball bat absent-mindedly in his hand. “Hey, Kukui?” When he hums in response, Sun gives him an earnest half-smile. “Thanks. For what you said earlier.” 

“I meant it.” And it’s clearly the truth, with the confident grin and warmth in his eyes as he tells Sun, “You always had potential, even when I first met you.” 

“I was awful in your class.” 

“An absolute lolo.” The two laugh, remembering the days of Sun barely passing biology with a strange nostalgia. It was certainly less stressful than trying to undo a zombie spell in the basement of a vampire coven. Kukui adds, a mysterious smile on his face, “But that usually just means you can see things a little differently.” 

Sun fidgets with the bat in his hand, feeling sheepish as he asks, “Hey, that grimoire app...could I download it on my phone?” He lifts the nail-bat up, giving it a shake. “I’m thinking I might want to balance out all this brawn with a little brain.” 

“You sure you didn’t get bitten by a zombie?” 

They chuckle, and Kukui downloads the grimoire to Sun’s phone, and Sun decides that maybe he isn’t the dumb one – at least, he doesn’t have to be. 

* * *

Plumeria’s sneakers squeak on the last step of the staircase. She leans against the banister, frowning at the sight of Guzma squatting, hunched over the chalk circle of sigils. 

“Told you it was reversible.” 

He scowls, standing and running a hand through his hair; it springs back up in place, even wilder than before. “She’s not gonna be happy,” he mutters, walking towards the staircase and avoiding Plumeria’s gaze. 

All the better for her to roll her eyes. “So what? You don’t need her, Guz.” His shoulders stiffen, but he walks past her, up the stairs. She turns to watch him with a furrow in her brows, voice softer than she wants it to be as she asks, “You know that, right?” 

It’s far too quiet when he pauses, hands clenched into fists. 

Then he’s opening the door and barking, “Get someone to clean this up.” 

When the door slams shut, Plumeria feels her stomach drop. She pinches the bridge of her nose. 

“Shit.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sun can be both very dumb and very smart and I think that's inspirational
> 
> we've been talking about the apocalypse so much, I couldn't resist doing my take on a zombie apocalypse (and revealing a bit of Skull shenanigans in the process)


	8. apocalypse, she wrote

[[♪ Poet - Bastille ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7nmrjVy4Pk)

A broken clock is still correct twice a day, and at a quarter past eleven on a Tuesday night, the broken clock on the back wall of Hala’s manages to be correct. 

Hau tends the bar, laughing with two customers as he gets them another round. Soft Alolan music plays from the old jukebox in the corner, and Hala himself is sitting and having a beer in a corner booth as he looks over finances. At the other end of the bar, Moon, Gladion, and Lillie sit, half-empty glasses and piles of documents before them as they continue to comb through Lusamine’s research and various Aether reports. Sun weaseled his way out of helping research by having a graveyard shift, and Moon has been cursing him for it for the past hour. 

She tries to fight it, but despite her efforts a yawn slips out, and she can _ feel _Gladion’s smirk as he mumbles, “Past your bedtime?” 

“Some of us require sleep, Alucard.” She rolls her eyes at him before her gaze settles on the stack of papers in front of her with a grimace. “And full offense to your mother, but these studies are dry and incomprehensible.” 

Lillie glances at the clock on the wall (by now it’s three minutes behind) and frowns. “I would hate to keep you out late when you have work in the morning.” She gives the young woman a sheepish smile, explaining apologetically, “Please, feel free to head out.” 

Moon nods, bar stool scraping against the floor as she stands, grabbing her jacket off the back as she glances at Gladion. “You staying?” 

“Considering your luck with Skull run-ins, you need someone around at all times.” He stands, shrugging on his own leather jacket as she raises a brow. 

“You want to be the Kevin Costner to my Whitney Houston?” At the clear confusion across his brows, Moon tilts her head with a too-sweet smile. “Pop culture reference, sorry.” While he scowls, she smirks, not quite able to rub the victory off her face when she looks at his sister and asks, “Do you want a ride home, Lillie?” 

“I can give her one if she wants to stay a little longer.” Hau’s made his way back to their side of the bar, throwing a towel over his shoulder and a wink in Lillie’s direction as he adds, “If that’s all right.” 

Lillie blinks, cheeks coloring as she looks down, adjusting a stack of books with a smile. “I’d like that.” 

Gladion mumbles an “I wouldn’t” but Moon gives him a swift elbow to the gut, looping an arm through his to drag the vampire out as she purrs, “Night you two.” 

As the doors swing shut behind them, Hau leans his elbows on the bar, focusing entirely on Lillie (and missing Hala’s frown at the sight of his only bartender ignoring the other customers). “Any luck?” 

Lillie sighs, rubbing her temple with one hand and picking up Moon and Gladion’s stacks of documents with the other. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” 

“Einstein, right?” 

“Misattributed.” She gives him a lopsided grin, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she gives up trying to put everything back in order. “But it still describes how I feel. I don’t know why I keep looking for new answers in the same papers and books.” 

Hau frowns before opening his mouth to suggest something, when his eyes catch on an unfamiliar tome behind Lillie’s stack. He reaches over and holds it up in his hand for inspection, asking, “What about this one?” 

The black, pebbled leather hardcover has a slight shimmer that catches the light like black scales. The back cover and spine are completely blank, but the front cover depicts a silver snake twisted into a Venus symbol. 

“That’s...I don’t recognize that one.” Her brows furrow as she takes the book from Hau, beginning to leaf through it carefully; the pages feel delicate, and the edges show clear signs of age in their color and unevenness. Everything is written in some sort of coded language that she’s never seen before, and she swears that the letters themselves shift on the page slightly. From what she can gather of the ink drawings, it seems to be profiles on various people, as well as some talismans that are unrecognizable. 

Hau can’t help but shudder as she flips to a portrait of an old woman, and it feels like the eyes follow him. “It’s giving me chicken skin.” 

Lillie forces herself to close the book, nodding and placing it on top of the stack. “I can sense some sort of magic, but can’t identify it. Best to leave it alone for now – who knows what my mother was dealing with.” 

They sit with the gravity of her words. 

Then his stomach growls. 

He grins sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as she hides a laugh behind her hand. “Sorry, always get hungry towards the end of my shift.” 

“Would you want to stop at Malasada Hut on the drive back? My treat, as thanks for the ride home,” she says, feeling her stomach flip when his grin widens. 

“You’re a girl after my heart.” 

She hides her blush by ducking her head to begin reading a study, Hau smiling as he makes his way back to the other end of the bar to finally check on his other customers. 

Neither of them notice the dark purple glow emanating from deep within the pages of the book they’ve just found. 

* * *

**From: Sun [22:08]**   
_idk, nothing in the grimoire matches that jellyfish alien description, so it hasn’t been seen before_

**From: Sun [22:09]**   
_any updates from __anyone__ else? study session tonight??_

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘study buddies’ _

**From: ****Gladion**** [22:14]**   
_Nothing new on my end._

**From: ****Hau**** [22:17]**   
_Me neither :0_

**From: ****Hau**** [22:17]**   
_The nature spirits on other islands haven’t seen anything_

_ Moon changed the name of the group to ‘all quiet on the western front’ _

_ Gladion _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Not even a remotely good reference’ _

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘seriously get a room__this is gross’ _

Lillie pauses in walking to the front door, her phone in one hand and the other keeping her broom balanced on her shoulder. When she felt her phone buzz in her pocket as she flew back to Melemele, she’d been hoping it was with some good news from Sun, who was trying to follow a lead on some of the creatures described in an Aether side project proposal, something relatively hush hush. Instead, she can’t help but feel frustrated, her stomach sinking. 

Until she sees the latest changes to their group chat name and snorts; at this point, her, Hau, and Sun have an informal betting pool on when something will finally happen between the Slayer and her brother. 

Considering the way she caught Gladion staring at Moon last night at the bar, she’s not entirely convinced something hasn’t happened already. 

**From: Lillie [22:26]**   
_Sorry, just got back from a delivery! I’ll be investigating a new book, though it doesn’t look like anything __substantial__. Keep you posted __^.^_

**From: Moon [22:28]**   
_sounds good!_

_ Gladion _ _ changed the name of the group to ‘Group Chat’ _

She pockets her phone once more, pulling her keys out of her bag and opening up the front door, more than ready to head to her basement and crack open that odd book Hau found. She’s still not entirely sure how she’s gone this long without noticing it, and once she determines there’s nothing insidious about the magic surrounding it, it might prove to be a useful lead. 

Her mind is so preoccupied with the tome that she fails to realize Dr. Burnet will have returned from her conference trip by now, and Lillie jumps no less than five feet in the air when a chipper voice greets, “Evening Lillie!” 

The broom nearly falls from her shoulder, but she manages to steady it at the last moment. Burnet observes her from her armchair in the living room where she sits curled up with a book. She tilts her head, equal parts amused and confused as she asks, “Doing some sweeping?” 

“The patio had some...sand.” It’s possibly the worst lie she’s told in her life, and one accompanied by a heavy dose of guilt – Kukui and Burnet have taken her in with no questions asked, and while the Watcher is finally in on her mission, she’s had to consistently keep Burnet in the dark to even the existence of magic. 

Realizing that she’s seconds from being caught, she’s quick to change the subject. “What are you reading?” 

Burnet glances down at the book in her lap with a groan. “Ugh, nothing good. You have any recommendations?” 

Lillie’s mind flashes to the strange black book in the basement, and even if she _ could _tell Burnet, she has no idea how to even begin explaining that one. “I, um, haven’t read anything for leisure in a while.” 

“Well, you’re always welcome to anything on my bookshelf.” The older woman gives her a kind smile, the softness in her eyes betraying her concern as she mumbles, “It’s good to take breaks, y’know?” 

She nods, swallowing a lump in her throat as she excuses herself and heads down to her room, leaving Burnet to watch her with a furrow in her brow. 

_ Except I can’t. Not now, when the world is in danger and it’s my own mother’s fault. _

Once she’s down the stairs, she carefully leans her broom against the wall, dropping her bag on her bed and walking around the cauldron towards the shelf she’s devoted solely to her mother’s plans. Halfway there, though, her eyes flicker to her desk and she sees the book lying there, glimmering under the incandescent light. “Well I could have sworn I put you on the shelf.” 

She doesn’t expect a response. 

“I’m sorry dear, but I much prefer the open!” 

But she gets a response. 

Lillie looks at the book with wide eyes, lifting her hand and preparing a simple cleansing spell because the last thing she needs right now is a demonic book. 

“Now that’s not very polite,” the book admonishes in a lilting voice, and she can see now there’s a dark purple, nearly black glow from the edges of the pages. 

“What are you?” Lillie keeps her voice sharp, every nerve on her body on edge as she steps closer and interrogates, “Why did my mother make you?” 

“I wasn’t made by your mother – unless your mother was born four-hundred years ago.” The book gives a light chuckle, and though she can’t place the feminine voice, it’s just polite and sweet enough to be disarming. “No, no, I was made by a group of very powerful witches. I’m the Supreme Harbinger’s Almanac of Undead and Necrotic Talismans and Anonymous Licensors.” 

Lillie falters, lowering her hand slightly as her brows furrow. 

“But my friends refer to me as ‘Shauntal.’” There’s a pause, and the glow from within seems warmer somehow, the voice losing some of its pomp as it adds, “And I would so like for us to be friends.” 

“You’re an almanac of magical items and users,” Lillie mumbles, finally piecing out the mouthful of a name. 

“Ah, did you want to read some of my profiles? I’m very proud of them.” Of her own accord, Shauntal flips open, pages fluttering as she explains, “All you had to do was ask! Yes, I pride myself on having all the important figures in witchcraft, especially those that dabbled in necromancy. Perhaps you’d like to read up on Old King Az, or Agatha the Eternal?” 

“No thank you.” Lillie lowers her hand, spell dissipating, but her frown remains in place. It seems fairly clear to her that the book, while magic, isn’t a direct threat, but she still feels uneasy. She walks towards it, intent on getting it out of her possession as she mutters, “Who was it that created you? I can simply return you and–” 

“But my dear, it was fate that brought me to you.” 

Her steps come to a halt, and Shauntal closes her covers once more. The silence is heavy and thick, the glow from the book’s pages seeming stronger as she continues to speak, words sharpened to prick at the very corners of Lillie’s mind. 

“I only appear to those witches and warlocks who are in need of my services, and who have the potential for greatness. I sense that you’re hard at work, on the verge of a breakthrough. You’re someone who can handle the heavy load, knowing it’s too important to stop, or to burden others.” 

The words sink in with a heavy swallow. Some part of her knows that this is all honey meant to catch a fly, but still Lillie listens. She’s so close, she has always been so close to stopping her mother. 

And it calls to a darker part of her. 

The part that yearns for something greater, something powerful. 

The part that she inherited form her mother. 

A buzz in her pocket snaps her out of her thoughts, Lillie fumbling for her phone as she tries to clear the fog from her mind. 

**From: ****Gladion**** [23:03]**   
_Be sure to get some rest tonight. I can take a look at the book you found if you’d like._

Pangs of guilt shoot through her as she reads the message. As much as she’s suffering to try and find the solution, to put this all together, she’s dragged everyone else into her suffering as well. All these years, this has been her burden to bear, and now she’s shoving it onto the shoulders of others. 

How can she continue to drag her brother down when he’s already given his life for her? 

Shauntal waits, and then it seems like her voice is right in Lillie’s ear. “I have answers, darling. It can’t hurt to look.” 

Lillie swallows, looking up at the book and watching the silver snake on the cover catch the light. 

“What sort of answers?” 

She steps closer, setting her phone down on the desk as Shauntal opens once more, pages glowing and coded script shifting into simple Latin right before her eyes. “Why, I know everything there is to know about the most powerful magic users in history, as well as ways to stop them.” 

Old ink drawings flood her vision. She catches the portrait of a giant, wizened old man, and a stoic young woman with long black hair and eyes an unnatural shade of pink. There are artifacts scattered in as well, from ancient spell tags to glass-blown flutes. 

Shauntal lands on an empty page. “It sounds like your mother is giving you some trouble. Simply write down the question, and I can direct you to the answer.” 

With trembling fingers, Lillie lifts a pen from her desk, but she still can’t bring herself to write. She’s so close, she’s always been so close, and finally she can stop her mother. 

Maybe some part of her – that dark part – just wants to take her place. 

“I sense some hesitation in you, dear, and it’s perfectly understandable.” Lillie forces herself to breathe, eyes having difficulty focusing when Shauntal’s very pages are glowing as she speaks. “I see much of myself in you: the same thirst for knowledge, ambition, and the same intellect that gives you pause now. Others don’t even realize that they may be holding you back, but I see your potential. This is the final step you’ve been waiting for to get some answers.” 

It’s all pulling her, it all brings her pen to the page, but the ink won’t flow. A small voice in her head (that sounds an awful lot like her brother or her friends or the young, scared witch she used to be) is chiming in her head, is warning her. 

Shauntal’s voice is louder as she whispers, “Wouldn’t you like to be a part of history?” 

No. 

She _needs_ to be. 

* * *

**From: ****Gladion**** [23:47]**   
_How is it coming along?_

**From: ****Gladion**** [24:15]**   
_Is everything all right?_

**From: ****Gladion**** [1:10]**   
_Lillie?_

* * *

_ Perhaps some of our enchantments and charms have “gone too far,” or seem to “serve no purpose beyond making life incredibly difficult for everyone who comes across them.” It is for these, and nothing else, that we would like to issue a __half-hearted _ _ apology. _

** _ Memo to the Magical Community at Large by the Coven of the Arcane Feminine _ **

* * *

“She’s still not picking up.” 

Moon frowns as she brings her phone down from her ear, leaning against the back wall of Hala’s. Sun stands next to her, fiddling with his watch as he bites his lip, and Hau paces in front of them, resisting the urge to pull out his own phone and try calling Lillie for the fifteenth time since Gladion mentioned she wasn’t responding to any of his texts or calls. 

All that’s really left for them to do is wait for Gladion to arrive after checking Kukui’s place. Moon suggested maybe she’s just passed out after so many all-nighters, and Sun threw out the possibility that her phone died, but still their stomachs sink with every passing minute. They figured they would all gather together just in case, that more likely than not Gladion would send a text confirming one of their suspicions and they could all laugh at their incessant worrying. 

As the vampire climbs up the hill to the back of the bar, Moon is the first to spot him. She bites her cheek at the sight of his less than pleased expression, prompting, “Well?” 

He continues walking towards them silently, stopping when he’s reached them to throw a book in his hands to the ground, hard enough that a small cloud of dirt is disrupted by the force. “Talk,” he barks at the novel, eyes set in a glare at the object. 

Sun raises a brow, leaning over to his sister to whisper, “He got on my case about not reading, but he doesn’t know how books work.” 

Hau stares at the book a moment longer before his eyes widen in recognition and he points an accusatory finger at it. "Hang on, that’s the creepy book from the other day. It was in the pile but Lillie didn’t recognize it.” 

“And it was just taunting me about knowing her location.” Gladion picks up the book with a huff, opening it to a random page and taking the corner between his fingers, ready to yank and tear it in half as he threatens, “Maybe it needs a little incentive to talk.” 

“Now that’s completely unnecessary!” 

Moon, Sun, and Hau gawk at the novel, taking in the disembodied voice and dark purple glow of the edges of the pages. Still, it only takes a moment for the truth to settle, and the Slayer shakes her head as she mutters, “How is this not the weirdest thing that’s happened this week?” 

Gladion lets go of the page but grips the tome tighter. “Tell me where my sister is,_ now _.” 

A chuckle echoes in the air around them. “Why she’s right here.” 

They step closer together, watching as the book flips through her pages of her own accord, flashes of portraits and diagrams, before settling on a page filled with coded script and a full-body illustration of Lillie, posing as though she’s in the middle of casting a spell. 

The book glows brighter, the voice smothered in self-satisfaction. “I think she’s a lovely addition, don’t you?” 

“What are you talking about?” Gladion snaps, but then his eyes catch on a new word revealing itself in the margins. It’s Lillie’s handwriting, and just as soon as the small “help” appears, it’s seemingly erased, and when he looks back at the portrait of his sister, her eyes are right on him. 

His self-control snaps, and he nearly tears the book in half as black veins appear near his now red eyes and he growls, _“__Let her out now!__” _

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” 

The smell of charcoal fills the air and a moment later, Hau’s hands are covered in fire, causing Moon and Sun to step back as he steps closer to the book – his fury is clear in how out of place it is on his usually cheerful face, smile replaced with a snarl of teeth that nearly matches the vampire’s enlarged canines. “I’m getting her out if I have to burn you in the process.” 

“If you destroy me you destroy her!” 

They freeze, and slowly the fire ebbs from the druid’s hands. “Not to mention all the other witches and warlocks who I have in my pages,” the book warns, and as if to prove her point, she flips a few pages until she’s showing a two-page profile on a young woman in a long, printed skirt, large flowers decorating her short hair. 

Her eyes move on the page, and the quartet has to swallow bile. 

“What the hell are you?” Moon mumbles, her fascination nearly outweighed by her disgust. 

“I’m the Supreme Harbinger’s Almanac of Undead and Necrotic Talismans and Anonymous Licensors.” 

Silence falls over the group as they try to make sense of the word salad being served. The book sighs. 

“Please just call me Shauntal.” She clears her throat, and closes herself, Gladion fumbling for a moment to try and not drop her at the unexpected motion. The silver snake twisted into a Venus symbol shines in the moonlight as she explains, “I was created by the Coven of the Arcane Feminine in order to better document our world’s strongest magic users.” 

Sun mumbles, “By trapping them forever.” 

Shauntal seems to bristle at the accusation, her glow nearly black. “Well when you phrase it that way, it sounds cruel.” 

Hau hums in thought, a sort of plan brewing in his mind. He needs a way to get Lillie out without physically damaging the book. “You were created using dark magic?” 

“Dark is all a matter of perspective, dear.” 

“So yes.” The group looks to Sun, who keeps his eyes on the symbol of the front cover. “Kukui’s app had some notes about the Coven of the Feminine Whatever. They dabble in dark magic.” 

With a nod, Hau feels the corners of his lips quirk upwards. He admittedly hasn’t been paying enough attention to his training sessions with Hala, but he definitely remembers a few of the simple sigils he was taught. “Anybody got a pen?” 

Moon quickly fishes one out of her bag, giving her friend a questioning look as she hands it over. Hau holds his other hand out to Gladion, who reluctantly passes him the book, watching as the druid flips to a blank page, keeping a tight grip on the top of the tome to prevent Shauntal from flipping to a different page. 

Still, she tries, realizing he’s taking the cap off the pen, voice absolutely indignant. “What are you _ doing _? You dare desecrate my pages like this?” 

“What’re you gonna do? Give me a papercut?” Hau chuckles, realizing that for all the powerful magic behind her, she’s still just a book. 

Her attempts at turning the page despite his grip grow more fervent as the pen meets the page. “If you write in me then you will be trapped and we’ll both be displeased with that situation!” 

“Nah.” He feels the tug on his skin, feels something trying to pull him in, but when he finishes the symbol he’s writing it stops abruptly. He lifts the pen from the page with a smirk. “Not with what I’m writing.” 

It’s an old purification sigil, one that every druid has memorized before they can even speak. The sigil is meant to remove any traces of dark magic from natural materials, usually to keep a shrine from being desecrated by dark forces. 

But it turns out it can also draw dark magic out of paper. 

Shauntal begins to glow shades of various dark purples as a scream fills the air. Hau drops her a moment later when she becomes molten lava to the touch, and the group shields their eyes as a flash of violet light threatens to blind them, a final scream fading off into the night. 

When they open their eyes, the book is still there, along with a very dazed witch who sits up, rubbing her head with a groan. 

Gladion rushes to his sister’s side, his face finally shifting back to his more human visage as he helps her up, checking over her for any signs of injury as he asks gently, “Lillie? Are you okay?” 

“I think so.” Her voice is rough around the edges, and she swallows, eyes blinking and getting used to the dim light of night as she looks around with wide eyes. “Where are we?” 

“Just behind Hala’s,” Moon explains, drawing Lillie’s gaze to her. 

Then her eyes drop to the ground by Moon’s feet where the book lies, and she nearly falls over herself in stepping backwards, body trembling and legs threatening to give out. “Th-that, that thing, it-” 

“We know. Hau got you out.” Gladion carefully wraps an arm around her shoulders, looking over at the nature spirit and giving him a grateful nod. He turns back to his younger sister, giving her a weak smile as he mumbles, “Let’s get you home, yeah?” 

And she nods, her breathing slowly returning to normal and her eyes never leaving the book as Hau picks it up and follows them towards Kukui’s house. 

* * *

The walk back to the basement is relatively quiet, and once they reach the cellar door, there’s a quick round of hugs. Only Gladion refuses to leave, insisting he walk her all the way to the room, and the book is passed off, ending up in Lillie’s hands as she climbs down the ladder. 

When she reaches the bottom, she turns on the light and waits for Gladion to join her. She can’t quite look him in the eyes, instead focusing her sheepish stare on the ground. “I’m sorry again for having put you through that.” Her eyes flicker to the book in her hands, and her lip curls in disgust. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted this, but I’ve been so frustrated with how little I’ve come up with recently.” 

Her brother shakes his head, crossing his arms and voice firm as he explains, “And I’m sorry that I haven’t made myself clearer – you should absolutely rely on me, and the others. Considering I was almost staked trying to get Moon on our side, it’d be a waste if you didn’t.” 

Lillie laughs softly, and in the silence their eyes settle on the book glimmering in her hands. Gladion frowns. “Are you sure you don’t sense any magic in it?” 

She shakes her head; on the walk over, she was able to confirm that whatever magic had been in the pages has since left, though it’s hard to tell so early if something else didn’t take its place. For now, it’s a normal book, and so she swallows the last of her nerves and bids herself to slowly open it. 

“That’s odd.” She frowns, flipping through the pages and seeing amongst the descriptions of magic artifacts several blank pages. Gladion glances over her shoulder as she explains, “All of the talisman descriptions are still here, though coded, but the profiles...they’re all gone. I get the feeling Hau’s cleansing sigil worked a little _ too _ well.” 

Which means she isn't the only magic user to have just escaped the book. 

Gladion shakes his head, voice snapping her out of the trail of thought before she can lose herself down it. “Problem for a different day. Right now, you need to rest.” He glances back down at the book, eyes drowning in hatred as he snaps, “And that needs to be destroyed.” 

When he goes to reach for it though, Lillie pulls it closer to her chest, stammering, “I can do it.” He hesitates, gaze shifting between his sister and the book with raised brows. “Please. I have more than a little resentment I’d like to get out.” 

“All right.” He’s clearly still unsure about the decision, but he relents and wraps her into a quick hug before turning to climb back up the ladder. Halfway up, he looks back at her. “Seriously, call one of us if you need anything. Even if it’s Hau.” 

She nods with a smile and laugh, giving him a wave goodbye. When the cellar door shuts behind him, she’s left alone with the book in her hands. She holds it up, reaching her magic out and still not sensing anything from it, but a chill runs through her body at the memory of Shauntal, of the honeyed words. 

Of the side of her that almost drove her to ruin. 

Quickly, she walks to the empty cauldron in the center of the room, deciding that she’ll toss the book in and simply set it on fire. 

But her hands won’t let the book go. 

She opens it again, thumbing through pages of artifacts, of things she’s heard rumors of but could never find information on. If she listens closely she swears she can hear Shauntal purring, _ I have answers. _

Before she can think better of it, Lillie walks to the shelf of her mother’s plans and places the book on top of a stack of other novels. She _ will _destroy it, eventually, but for now there might be something valuable in it. 

And despite her best intentions, she still has some of her mother’s vices. 

It’s been too long of a day for her to think further on that, though, and instead she turns and heads up the stairs to use the bathroom and get ready for bed. 

When she turns off the lights at the top of the stairs, her basement goes completely dark. 

Except for a faint, lavender glow on the shelf. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here's our Lillie-centric chapter, featuring a lot of name-drops and a very strange form for a Shauntal cameo
> 
> I've also teased a bit more of Burnet, but she won't be getting too involved with the plot just yet...


	9. a pennywise for your thoughts

[[♪ Carnival (feat. Anthony Hamilton) - Gorillaz ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nALmZ1cjwE)

Her mother’s voice is soft and curious on the other end of the line. “And how have you been, ku’uipo?” 

“Fine.” Moon adjusts her hold on her phone as she pours herself a cup of coffee. She knows coffee at this hour is a terrible idea, but she can barely keep her eyes open after the late night and long shift she’s had back to back. Last night was a wild goose chase as the druids at Tapu Lele’s shrine told Hau they spotted something that might resemble one of the creatures from the Aether files, but by the time they got there it was near impossible to track down again. 

Which would be fine, except it was two in the morning on Tuesday and Moon isn’t a teenager anymore who can handle an all-nighter with grace and ease. 

So technically, she’s not fine, but she hopes she can keep her exhaustion out of her voice. 

Her mother hums. “Nothing....strange has happened, right?” 

Moon pauses in stirring in milk, entire body freezing as she thinks back on the past week alone, never mind the past two months since Gladion kidnapped Sun and started this whole mess. 

“Not for years. Looks like that’s all over.” 

A white lie can’t hurt. 

“Oh good, good.” Her mother lets out a relieved breath, and Moon takes a seat on the couch with her coffee, careful not to spill on the throw pillow that’s been serving as Gladion’s pillow. No doubt she’d never hear the end of it if he came back to find it stained (never mind the fact that he lives here rent-free and hasn’t thanked her for it _ once _). 

“I just...you know I worry. I don’t want anything to happen to you or your brother, and there was that odd morning last week that no one can remember.” 

That was the morning of the zombie apocalypse caused by the Skulls, but considering Sun handled himself and stopped it, she figures it’s not a total lie to reply, “Nothing to worry about.” 

“Well keep an eye out. I saw somewhere they’re having those strange clown sightings again in Unova.” 

Moon can’t help but roll her eyes as she takes a sip of coffee, enjoying her view of the forest behind the apartment building. “That happened last year, too, and it was just a bunch of teenagers trying to scare everyone. Besides, nothing like that would ever happen h–” 

A clown with a painted smile and glowing red eyes stands at the edge of the tree line. 

_ Son of a bitch__, seriously? Can’t I have _**_one _**_normal day? _

She huffs, setting her cup down on the coffee table as she mumbles, “Hey Mom, I have to head out soon but I’ll see you at dinner on Sunday.” 

“All right Moonbeam, see you then.” If she can sense something off, then she doesn’t say anything about it, instead simply chirping, “Stay safe!” 

“Yeah.” Her eyes are back to the window, but in the second she looked away the clown has disappeared, leaving an empty forest in the night as Moon hangs up. “I’ll try.” 

* * *

Hala’s is relatively packed on a Friday night, but they manage to secure a booth in the back corner, far enough away from curious ears. 

Kukui leans back, taking a sip from his pint glass as he considers what Moon’s just described. “Shapeshifting demon would be my best guess, though taking the form of clowns is...a choice.” 

“A creepy one.” Hau shivers in his seat on the edge next to Lillie, grimacing. “Seriously, why’d it have to be clowns?” 

Gladion raises a brow, asking just before he brings his can of Hala’s Brew to his lips, “Not a fan?” 

“They’ve been Hau’s biggest fear for as long as we’ve known him,” Moon explains from her spot next to the vampire. 

Sun sits up straighter, looking to Kukui with a realization lighting up his gray eyes. “Hey, that could be what these things are after: fear.” 

The Watcher nods, looking pleasantly surprised that Sun’s actually been reading the grimoire app. “Most demons are known to feed off of negative emotions, so not a bad hypothesis at all.” 

“From what I could gather, most of the sightings are centered around Iki Town.” Gladion was quick to access the police reports that have been made so far about a creepy clown loitering around the island. He gives Hau a smirk and a mock toast with his beer as he mutters, “So it may be up to you, Nature Boy.” 

Hau groans, letting his head fall back on the booth seat while Lillie gives him a sympathetic smile. “It could act as exposure therapy?” 

He chews his cheek in thought before giving her an impish smile. “Or I could just let the rest of the tribe handle it.” 

“We should probably get them involved anyway – I have a feeling this thing’s going to go after the shrine,” Moon explains. From what she remembers, most demons want to destroy deities, often trying to interfere with worship or desecrating sacred spots. It’s more than likely their clown is just waiting for an opening to get to Tapu Koko. 

Lillie taps her nails against her still mostly full glass. “How do we stop it?” 

Kukui pulls up the app on his phone, passing it to the witch across the table as he says, “Typical stake or holy water should do the trick, but it might also be possible to get rid of whatever source of negative energy it’s feeding on.” 

Sun catches movement from the corner of his eye, watching as Hala walks out of the back and towards their table with a harsh brow and clear frown. “Speaking of negative energy...” 

“Your break’s been over for ten minutes, Hau.” 

The nature spirit flinches at Hala’s voice, turning around in his seat slowly with a wide, apologetic smile. The others become awkwardly fascinated with their glasses or the wood grain of the table, sensing a possible argument on the horizon. 

“Sorry Tutu, but we’ve got demon clowns threatening Tapu Koko.” 

“And_ you _have a job, keiki.” 

Despite everyone else melting further into their seats, Sun lets out an “ooooh you’re in trouble” as Hau gets up, heading back to the bar with slumped shoulders. Moon swiftly elbows her brother in the ribs before chancing a glance at Hala, but if the older man heard it, then he’s chosen to ignore it, instead turning and heading back to his office. 

Just as he passes the storage room, he senses footsteps behind him and Kukui calls out, “Hala, have a second?” 

He stops, turning around with a grunt. Kukui slides his hands into his back pockets, keeping his voice and body relaxed even as his face furrows in hesitant concern. “I know you wanna do what’s best for Hau, but I think you’re being a little rough on him, cousin.” 

Part of him expects the kahuna to argue with him right off the bat, but then Hala’s always been just as reasonable as he is assertive. Instead, Hala sighs, crossing his arms as he explains, “I know what you all are doing is important, but Hau’s been like this since he was a child. I think I’ve been too easy on him, if anything. He’s always using your group as an excuse to take off – he's even been skipping his shrine duty recently.” His face falls for a moment, the usually confident glimmer fading as his voice drops to something near a whisper. “One day, I won’t be around, and I want Hau to take my place.” 

The air grows thick, but Kukui’s question cuts through it. 

“Is that what_ he _wants?” 

Hala sighs. “I’m not sure. But even if he decides not to take over the shrine, I want to see him take more responsibility.” 

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” 

“Every time I do, he just gets upset.” The druid shakes his head, his chuckle lacking his usual good humor as he says, “I love the little lolo, but I need him to grow up once and for all.” 

The two nod, their conversation growing fainter as they continue walking to Hala’s office. 

Hau stands on the other side of the storage room door, a bottle of whiskey in his hands and his ear pressed to the door. 

* * *

“Are you sure you and Sun are okay?” 

Her mother is worried; not quite My-Daughter-Just-Told-Me-Her-Life-Threatening-Destiny worried, but pretty close. She’s spent the past ten minutes finding different ways to ask the same question of whether or not her kids are in any way involved in the latest sightings of a strange clown around Melemele that the local news has reported on. 

Moon fidgets in her seat at the kitchen table, pulling a knee up to her chest as she bites her cheek. “Honestly, I haven’t even seen one of these clowns.” 

She winces at the lie, and Gladion, from his seat on the couch, lets out a bark of a laugh. Though she throws him a seething glare, he only rolls his eyes, and it’s too late as her mom asks, “Who was that?” 

_ Vampire roommate who’s bad at being a vampire because of his soul and an even worse roommate. _

“I have a friend over.” 

The dreaded hum of curiosity comes from the other end of the line, and Moon tries not to gag when her mom purrs, “A romantic friend?” 

“_Absolutely not.” _It’s out before she can even finish the question, and coated in several layers of poison. Gladion glances up from his laptop with a raised brow, but Moon avoids his questioning stare. 

Her mom laughs, and it’s a welcome reprieve from the fear that’s been in her voice since the beginning of her phone call. “You and your brother don’t give me anything to gossip about. But I should let you get back to your friend. I’m sorry to call again, I’m just–” 

“Worried.” The Slayer sighs, but her voice softens and she rests her chin on her knee. “I know, Mom. Love you.” 

“Love you ku’uipo, see you soon.” 

She hangs up, setting her phone down on the table, and hears a very judgmental sip from the couch. Gladion doesn’t say a word, but his raised brows and loud sipping from his crazy straw say it all; to be fair, it’s proven difficult to sip blood through a straw, so the noise isn’t just to condescend her. 

They’ve gone back to Moon getting him blood bags, an unspoken agreement between them that they both need more time before he tries to feed from her again. 

They both need a little more time to forget the rush of heat. 

“What?” Moon snaps, feeling the urge to smack him rise in her. 

He shrugs, placing the mug of blood back on the coffee table. “You’re rather comfortable lying to your mom.” 

“You of all people shouldn’t be lecturing me about my relationship with my mother.” 

She sits back with a smirk and crossed arms, leaving the vampire to open and close his mouth several times in search of a response. He settles on a scrunched frown of defeat that has her biting back a laugh. “True but tactless.” 

“It’s just not fair to her.” She looks to the side, lost in a memory as she explains, “She didn’t ask for her kid to have to fight the forces of evil. I basically forced us to move halfway across the world because no high school would take me after the gym incident.” Feeling his eyes on her, she clears her throat, looking at Gladion once more as she finishes with a shrug. “She’s already sacrificed so much for me, the least I can do is spare her some anxiety.” 

His expression is nearly unreadable, but his voice betrays his curiosity (and the beginnings of a deeper concern that he hasn’t dared to entertain with her). “What if something happens to you?” 

The weight on her shoulders is nearly unbearable at this point, and though she shrugs she can feel herself starting to strain under the pressure. “Then she finds out, but until then I don’t know what else to do, because it’s either I be a bad daughter or I don’t try to save the world.” 

“It doesn’t make you a bad daughter.” 

Their eyes hold onto each other for a moment, and finally she sees him without his usual mask of sarcasm. 

And then she blinks and he’s scratching the back of his neck, eyes firmly on the ground as he chuckles, “I just...didn’t think happy families could be this complicated.” 

They sit with the truth, silence growing longer as they avoid looking at each other. Her curiosity is piqued, and she feels sympathy scratching at the back of her mind as she avoids asking him just what he’s been through. She’s been left to guess at what his home life must have been like, but she knows it’s close to a miracle he could hang onto his soul even before being sired. 

On the other hand, Gladion hasn’t spared much thought about her life before meeting him. He figured her avoiding Slayer duties simplified everything, simplified _ her _to an extent, but every day she grows more complicated, more of a challenge to decipher. 

He’s never been one to walk away from a challenge. 

His eyes flicker to the window on his left, realizing he needs something to distance himself, and he’s nearly relieved when he says, “There’s a clown outside again.” 

“Son of a _bitch__.” _

And he laughs as she stands, going to grab a wooden stake before trying for the umpteenth time this week to finally get that stupid creepy clown. 

* * *

_ Demons are known to take many forms, but there is always something off about their appearance that will give away their true identity. Look especially closely at the eyes. _

** _ Doctor _****_Gramtapen’s _****_Grimoire, 13_****_th_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

Hau’s been assigned to early morning shrine duty this week, the same week that a demon clown is likely to appear at the shrine. 

So Hau’s been skipping early morning shrine duty this week. 

He still sets his alarm, though, and he wakes up this morning with a stomach-turning guilt as he shuts it off. Birds are chirping outside his window, and while most of Iki Town continues sleeping, he stares up at his ceiling, worrying his bottom lip. 

It’s incredibly tempting to go back to sleep. After all, it’s infinitely easier to not have to face your biggest fear than to wake up early to do just that. Maybe it isn’t the soundest philosophy, but Hau’s always been one to avoid conflict and take the path of least resistance, and it hasn’t come to bite him in the butt yet. 

_ One day, I won’t be around, and I want __Hau__ to take my place. _

But it will eventually. 

Hala’s voice rings in his ears, taunting him until he gets out of bed and heads to his bathroom to get ready. His movements are slow, still clouded with sleep and the anxiety of having to see that clown; he’s mostly avoided it, but the one glimpse he got from a walk to the bar sent him into a sprint and had his limbs trembling for an hour. 

It really would just be so much easier to go back to sleep. 

_ I __love the little __lolo__, but I need him to grow up once and for all. _

Hau stares at his reflection in the mirror as he ties up his hair, scoffing to himself as he remembers the sting of his grandfather’s words. _Grow up? _he thinks with a snort, _Of course I’ve grown up. _His reflection gives him a smirk, but then his eyes drift to an old polaroid he has taped to the corner of the mirror. It’s from just a few months after he met Sun and Moon at Melemele High School, but on the day that he cemented in his head that the transfer students were the best friends he’d been looking for. He can’t remember who took it, but they’re in the high school courtyard, the sun in their eyes as he beams into the camera, arms looped around the shoulders of a laughing Sun and a Moon in mid-eye roll. 

While his hair has gotten even longer, Sun’s since kept his shorter. Back when he was fourteen, though, Sun’s bangs were nearly in his eyes, hair covering half of his baby face. Though he’s laughing, his eyes are firmly avoiding looking at the camera, and he’s lifting a hand to try and cover his face. Back then, he wasn’t half as confident as he is now, and while he’s always been curious about the supernatural and occult, he wouldn’t have had the tenacity to throw himself into the cross-fires of the apocalypse like he has now. 

Moon was knee-deep in her hipster phase at this point, with her eye roll perfectly accented by large, wire-frame glasses that weren’t prescription. He remembers finding out her destiny as a Slayer just a week before the photo was taken, when Sun accidentally let it slip and she swore him to secrecy. At first, he’d been excited, quick to tell them he was a part of the druids of Tapu Koko, only for Moon to then avoid him for days afterward. She was adamant that she wanted no part in being a Slayer, taking every precaution to avoid the supernatural. Now, though she still won’t admit it, Hau can tell she’s actually starting to enjoy it, or at the very least isn’t shying away from the occult side of Alola. 

So Sun is more sure of himself, Moon is more proactive, and Hau is... 

Well, Hau. 

He struggles to come up with any substantial change that he can think of, something personal. He’s still as carefree as before, his smile looks pretty unchanged, and the biggest achievement he can come up with is the college diploma on his wall. When he thinks about it, even much of his powers are the same – he still has yet to master morphing, and what little practice he’s put in has mostly been to make sure his elemental manipulation doesn’t get rusty, not improve. 

Maybe the path of least resistance he thought he was taking was actually just him standing still. 

His phone chimes, not quite snapping him out of his thoughts as he walks to pick it up from the bedside table. 

**From: Lillie [6:11]**   
_I have to meet with a client on __Poni__ this morning, but after I can stop by and help with the shrine <3_

**From: Lillie [6:12]**   
_I know how stressful phobias can be_

He smiles, feeling his heart skip a few beats and knowing that whatever crush he’s formed on Lillie has blown up into a full-force infatuation at this point. 

_ But even if he decides not to take over the shrine, I want to see him take more responsibility. _

The palpitations are cut short by Hala’s voice in his head, and Hau takes a deep breath, because he gets the feeling this is something he should do on his own. After all, though he doesn’t like to face it, he’s had people picking up his slack for years. 

**From: ****Hau**** [6:14]**   
_Aww thanks Lil, it means a lot for you to offer__!! :__))_

**From: ****Hau**** [6:14]**   
_I think I can handle it though! Exposure therapy, right?_

He pauses, and then decides that if he's going to start taking the initiative, that might as well extend into every area of his life. 

**From: ****Hau**** [6:15]**   
_But I’d love to treat you to dinner instead_

**From: ****Hau**** [6:17]**   
_As like, a real date_

**From: ****Hau**** [6:17]**   
_Not like a weird, sort of platonic but not date thing_

**From: ****Hau**** [6:18]**   
_I’m rambling please shut me up_

**From: Lillie [6:23]**   
_It’s a date! Pick me up at 7?_

His fingers can’t type out a yes fast enough, and he sends off his response with a wide smile, setting his phone back down and getting dressed with a cheerful whistle that follows him all the way to the shrine. The sun is bright and warm against his cheek, and the dread he woke up with this morning has all but melted away. 

It’s the first time he’s decided to make a major change in years, and it feels good. 

Today is the first day of the rest of his life, which is cheesy to think but motivating all the same. All that, and he even has a date on top of it! It’s shaping up to be a good day, and his smile only widens when he reaches the shrine room and sees Hala standing there, his back to the entrance. 

“Morning Tutu!” he calls out, but his smile falters when he notices how his grandfather’s shoulders tense at the sound. 

The hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention, and there’s something chilly in the air that his untrained druid instincts can’t pinpoint. His steps stop, and his voice wavers despite him clearing his throat. “Tutu?” 

“You’ve disappointed me, Hau.” 

Hala’s posture is taut as a bowstring, and his first arrow hits Hau right in the chest, so that the nature spirit takes a step back at the acidic tone. He swallows, feeling his hands tremble at a thought he hadn’t considered before. 

_ What if it's too late to change? _

He swallows, clenching his hands into fists and letting his optimism carry him as he replies steadily, “I know. I’m sorry about not taking shrine duty seriously enough.” 

The pause is heavy, becoming viscous as it settles over Hau’s shoulders and crawls down his spine. 

“Do you really think you can atone for it like this?” 

“...yes?” The younger man blinks, because things have just taken a turn from dreadful to strange. Sure, his grandfather can get rather serious when it comes to their duties as guardians of Tapu Koko, but he’s never been this grave. 

Hala finally turns, walking towards his grandson stiffly. His eyes flash with something righteous as he growls, “Why won’t you grow up?” 

He stops just a foot away from Hau, and despite the several growth spurts he’s hit, his grandfather still looms large over him, drowning him in his shadow. Hau’s never felt so small, his stomach dropping at the fury painted across Hala’s face. Then he manages to look into his grandfather’s eyes just as his legs start shaking, and he stops. 

Red eyes stare back at him. 

The realization hits him like a truck; it’s not Hala, but the shapeshifting demon, and Hau is ill-equipped to take it down. If he turns and runs, he can get out of this without a scratch, but then he’ll leave the demon alone with the shrine, giving it the perfect opportunity to destroy the offerings to Tapu Koko. 

But then he remembers Kukui mentioning something about destroying its source of negative energy. 

His eyes scan the room, trying to find some source, until he realizes that the very real fear coursing through his veins and telling him to run is probably the biggest source of it for miles. Now that he thinks on it, clowns and disappointing his tutu are two of his strongest fears, so it can’t be an accident that the demon specifically chose those forms. 

For the first time in his life, Hau is a source of negative energy. 

And if today is all about change, then this is just another to add to the list. 

Still, as he puffs out his chest, his hands hang by his side in shaking fists. “I will.” It comes out quiet, and he takes a deep breath, trying again and staring not-Hala right in his red eyes as he says, “I _ am. _ Maybe it looks a little different than others, and maybe it’s not as fast as it should be, but I’m growing.” 

Confused, not-Hala steps back, eyes widening for a moment as Hau feels a surge of confidence in his smirk. “I would never let my tutu down, but then you aren’t him, are you?” 

The demon’s eyes flash a brighter red, and then Hala’s form is shifting, stretching and squishing in places until he’s replaced with the same clown that’s been terrorizing Melemele. 

On instinct, Hau closes his eyes, his heart clenching at the sight before speeding up the rate of a hummingbird’s wings. But he can hear the demon growling now, can feel it growing taller in front of him, and he realizes with a mutter under his breath that he’s just giving it more power. His breathing is shaky but he opens his eyes, not caring how his voice stammers and stutters as he barks, “You take a look in the mirror recently, Pagliacci? Because your face is a real joke.” 

Again, the demon grows confused, and his stature shrinks back down to a normal height, some of the red stains on his costume evaporating before Hau’s eyes. He lets out a breathless chuckle, realizing that while he might still be terrified, laughter really is the best medicine right now. 

“All you’ve done so far is stand around – what, can’t juggle?” The clown steps back and Hau steps forward, following it as its body fluctuates, losing pieces of the costume and growing smaller as the druid continues, “You realize a clown’s job is to make people laugh, right? You can’t even do that because your face is so messed up. You’re a failure at even being a clown!” 

It’s clear that the demon is growing desperate as it begins to shift into various other forms – doctor, snake, shark. With every shift, though, it grows smaller, and Hau feels himself grow taller as the last of his trembling nerves become steel and he smirks. 

“Ya know, maybe _I’m _immature, but at least I don’t have to latch onto the insecurities of a twenty-something to exist.” 

_ Maybe Moon really did rub off on me_, he thinks, realizing the line is a little too similar to something the Slayer would say. Still, it’s the final nail in the coffin that he needed as he watches the demon become a shadow of a body, vacant red eyes as wide as its screaming mouth as it finally curls up and disappears in a puff of smoke. 

The temple is quiet once more, and Hau lets out a satisfied breath, feeling something deep within him shift. 

At the very least, he’s pretty sure he’s not afraid of clowns anymore. 

* * *

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘demon roasting 101 with prof __hau__’ _

**From: Sun [9:07]**   
_seriously dude, congrats on getting over the fear_

**From: Moon [9:12]**   
_and just confirmed with kukui that there was only one, so __hau’s__ the savior of the week_

**From: Sun [9:13]**   
_we should celebrate!!_

**From: ****Hau**** [9:17]**   
_Sorry guys, I already have plans __tonight ;__)_

**From: Lillie [9:22]**   
_Will those plans interfere with our date?_

**From: Sun [9:23]**   
_WHAT_

**From: Moon [9:23]**   
_whaaaaat_

**From: ****Gladion**** [9:24]**   
_What_

**From: Lillie [9:24]**   
_Wrong chat! I didn’t mean to send that please ignore_

**From: Moon [9:25]**   
_we’re absolutely Not ignoring that_

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘__hau__ and __lillie __sitting in a tree’ _

* * *

Iki Town is drenched in orange and red as the last of the sun disappears beyond the horizon. Hau walks through town, hands in the pocket of his jacket and a small smile on his face, because if he’s going to give this whole growing up thing a try, then he feels like real adults shouldn’t have goofy grins plastered on their faces. 

But it’s hard not to feel absolutely giddy when he knows he has a date with the most amazing girl he’s ever met. 

Sure, Lillie’s pretty, but she’s also kind, and driven, and_ so _smart and– 

“Are you heading out?” 

Hau freezes mid-step, looking over to see Hala and two other druids up on stage. They’ll be celebrating the equinox soon, and the kahuna is supervising the decoration of the stage with sigils of transition. 

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for the graveyard shift at the bar,” Hau replies, giving his grandpa an assured nod. 

“Hau, I...” Hala falters, face softening. He looks back at the two tribe members drawing, shaking his head as he steps off the stage, walking towards his grandson. He stops to put a hand on his shoulder, a gentle smile poking through his mustache. “I don’t say this enough, but...I’m proud of you. Not just for today, but everything.” 

Hau grins, the remains of a sunset making it nearly fiery. “I know, Tutu.” His face drops just slightly as he remembers something, and he sighs, sobering up his gaze as he continues, “And I know that you’ve been real patient with me, and I need to step up. I promise I will.” 

Hala retracts his hand, placing it on his hip as he gives him a grunt of approval. Before Hau can escape, his grandfather gives him a quick once-over, and noticing the distinct lack of a loose T-shirt and sandals, his face cracks into something sly. “You look nice. Date?” 

“Yup.” 

“With the pretty girl you always stare at?” 

“Yup!” Hau can’t keep the goofy grin off his face now, hands gesticulating excitedly as his eyes sparkle with the first real thoughts he’s given to the future. “And I don’t want to get ahead of myself, first date and all, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna marry her if she lets me. It’s the responsible thing to do.” 

He winks and turns on a heel, glad to hear his tutu’s laugh and know that for all his talk of stepping up, he still has a few more years before he needs to take charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a fic is going well when Hau is taking Lillie out on dates and making things official while Gladion and Moon probably refer to each other as "business associate" with disdain
> 
> with this last more character-focused chapter, we're actually transitioning into the second arc, and we've got a few twists and turns coming up...


	10. u.f.oh no you didn't

[[♪ Jellyfish - Local Natives ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k51sZ14lUPA)

The lock clicks and the front door opens, Kukui looking up from his grading on the couch to watch his wife slough off her backpack at the door. She’s been staying late at the lab the past few weeks, and tonight is no exception. It’s been helpful to avoid her questions as Kukui sneaks around Alola with former students and the heirs of Aether trying to prevent dark forces from terrorizing the region, but it’s worrisome to see how tired her eyes are. 

“How was work?” he asks with a half-smile, setting aside his student’s quizzes and red pen on the coffee table. 

Burnet groans, rolling her shoulder as she walks over to the couch. “Remember when I said I wished I had more anomalies to study?” She drops onto the sofa next to her husband, head falling in his lap as she looks up at him with a smirk. “I _almost _take it back.” 

“Swamped?” He runs a hand through her hair, and she sighs into the touch, some of the tension melting out of her back. 

“Drowning in it. ‘Course, most of them we can probably discount considering it’s people calling in about unidentified flying objects at four in the morning, but still.” She sits up, stretching out her back as she faces her husband with the beginnings of an excited smile, her voice picking up in speed and volume as she explains, “The wormholes are back, though. I swear, they’re even closer than when I was working with Mohn, and with how many people are claiming to see creatures exiting them, maybe he was onto something with the possibilities of life in Ultra Space.” 

Mohn, of course, as in Lillie and Gladion’s father, and Ultra Space as the dimension that Lusamine is currently trying to reach. 

Kukui sits up a little straighter, trying to keep his curiosity from becoming suspicious as he mumbles with a half-hearted chuckle, “Tears in the sky and alien sightings sounds straight out of a sci-fi novel.” 

“Right?” Her eyes are twinkling with the excitement of a child, and it brings a smile to her husband’s face. He knows how torn up she was when her research with Mohn was cut short, wishing she could carry on the scientist’s legacy after the lab accident. 

It was a tough sell to funders, though, and the Ultra Space project was cancelled, leaving Burnet to scramble for a new job that excited her just as much and to mourn not only the death of a close colleague, but see his work go to waste in packed up boxes. 

Movement in the window behind Burnet’s head catches Kukui’s eye, and he feels his hands go clammy. 

A nearly transparent, 4-foot jellyfish floats on the beach, heading out towards the ocean. 

He clears his throat, forcing his eyes away from the window and back on his wife as he wills his voice to remain even. “These creatures...are people describing them as sort of floating jellyfish?” 

Burnet tilts her head. “How’d you know?” 

When his gaze goes back to the window, the Nihilego is gone, leaving an empty view of the sand in the moonlight and the endless stretch of the sea. 

“Call it a hunch.” 

* * *

The last shuttle bus to Hokulani Observatory drops off just six passengers, only two of whom are completely human. 

Hau is the first one off the bus, letting out a low whistle at the sight of the observatory as the others step off the shuttle. “Man, I haven’t been here since my elementary school field trip.” 

Behind him, the bus roars back to life, slow to turn in the parking lot and go back down the winding path of the mountain. Kukui walks up beside Hau, grinning at the familiar sight of the building as he asks, “Do you remember the two running it?” 

When Kukui let the others know about the surge in Nihilego spotting, along with his own personal sighting, he also mentioned his connections to the Hokulani Observatory. Apparently, he’s known one of the owners for years now, and it only took a day to get in touch and arrange a private visit to use the telescope to watch a wormhole open in real-time. 

As they walk inside, Hau wracks his brain for a memory, scrunching his nose as he’s only able to recall, “One of them was real tall and the other was real short and also definitely a kid.” 

Gladion from his spot in the back of the group sniffs the air as they walk towards the back and audibly gags. When the others turn to question him, he groans, “They’re_ celestials.” _

Sun is about to pull out his phone to open the grimoire app when Kukui explains, “They won’t be in their full form, so they’ll look human, but they’re beings made of divine energy, hence their fascination with and knowledge of the cosmos.” 

Also known as a vampire’s biggest natural enemy. If the natural animosity Gladion felt towards Hau was bad, this is a war waiting to happen. 

Seeing his discomfort as the group continues in, Moon turns to the vampire with a raised brow, masking her concern with a playful tone. “You want to sit this one out, Hot Topic?” 

“I’ll suffer through it,” he grunts, and before she can argue he walks past her, leaving her to follow behind as they enter the exhibit past the lobby. 

A tall, blond man with a hunch is waiting for them, turning at the sound of their approaching footsteps with a warm, calming smile. Everything about him seems to exude peacefulness, and Sun even has to suppress a yawn from how instantly relaxed he feels. Only Gladion remains slightly on edge, his brow set and shoulders tense. 

“And here comes our last tour group for the day.” The celestial steps towards them, meeting them halfway with a lethargic wave. “Hi everyone, I’m Molayne.” 

Kukui grins, looking ten years younger as he greets, “Hey cousin.” 

Molayne smirks. “Hey ‘Royal.’” 

Lillie’s eyes widen, looking up at Kukui with her lips parted in surprise. “As in ‘Masked Royal,’ the retired wrestler?” 

“Way to blow my cover to former students,” Kukui groans, cheeks coloring. 

“Oh no we definitely knew,” Moon pipes up, Sun and Hau nodding. 

“Yeah man, you left your mask out like,_ all_ the time.” 

They share a laugh with Molayne, whose eyes twinkle as he turns, beginning to walk towards a door requiring a keycard as he says, “Well, let me lead you to the back. Sophocles is getting the telescope in place.” 

He slides his keycard, and in stark contrast to the light walls and well-lit exhibits of the room they were just in, a darker hallway opens up. They step inside, footsteps echoing as they walk through the empty building. 

Though they’re probably alone, Lillie still keeps her voice down as she matches her steps to Molayne, bringing her notebook and pen out of her bag. “How long have you two been tracking these wormholes?” 

“We just started seeing these wormholes specifically in the past two weeks. For as long as we’ve been on this plane, though, portals have been popping up every few years.” The celestial looks down to give her a smile as they turn the corner, and Lillie swears there’s a glow about him, and several more pairs of eyes that she can’t see but_ feel _on her. “After all, how do you think we got here?” 

Kukui explains with a memory tugging his lips into another smile, “Sophocles and Molayne have been acting as unofficial gatekeepers for interplanar travel to Alola for centuries now.” 

Sun’s brows furrow as they reach a door at the end of the hall. “How many planes are there?” 

“Infinity.” Molayne pushes the door open, giving the young man a conspiratorial wink. “Plus one.” 

They enter the control room, surrounded by machines of various sizes and colorful metals, boards of lights and screens of stars lighting the room. Towards the back, in a dark blue desk chair that’s seen better days, a boy who must be Sophocles sits in a stained Legend of Zelda shirt, a shock of orange hair on top of his head. He peeks over his control panel, spotting the group by the door and waving them over to him. 

“Hurry you guys, we only have a few minutes!” 

Without another word they walk over – Gladion has to pull the collar of his shirt over his nose to block out the overpowering smell of now two celestials, and glares at Moon when she snickers at him – and look at the screen Sophocles points at. 

It’s positioned over a portion of sky, the coordinates in a corner, but otherwise an unidentifiable stretch of stars over Alola. Sophocles glances at the notepad next to his arm, double-checking he has the telescope set up in the exact position. Lillie jots the location down in her notebook as she asks, “How are you able to predict when and where this one will open up?” 

“They’re not exactly random,” Sophocles explains, looking around at the group, only to blush at the realization that he has so many pairs of eyes on him. He glances back down, fidgeting with his hands as he clears his throat and continues, “Mo and I have been recording them, and it’s taken a little time but we have the pattern down.” 

“What about the Nihilego?” 

The celestials share a look, expressions twisting in confusion as Lillie digs around her bag, pulling out a slightly crumpled report and flipping to a page with a possible diagram of the creature. She sets it down on the control panel for the others to see. “They appear as floating jellyfish, although they’re only one possible species of Ultra Beast that my father hypothesized. I believe they’re a form of sentient life that may be coming through the wormholes.” 

“Huh, you know, we picked up something coming through, but so far it’s been small, and we’ve never gotten to it in time,” Molayne tells her, picking up the report to take a closer look. 

Sophocles looks back at the screen, eyes widening as he bounces in his seat and points at the very center of the section of sky the telescope is positioned on. “Look!” 

Their eyes focus in on a growing section of light that widens into a line before bursting into various hues of purples, reds, and blues. As the wormhole fluctuates, another, smaller screen emits a soft beep. 

Sun is the first to spot it in the group, pointing to a strange blur as he asks, “What’s that?” 

A moment later the blur becomes sharper, moving away from the wormhole as it closes. Three Nihilego float in formation, occasionally bumping against a smaller object in the middle of them that blends into the night sky. 

“That’s the most life that’s ever come through.” Molayne adjusts his glasses, nearly breathless. 

Gladion lowers his shirt collar, looking to the two celestials as he asks sharply, “Can you tell where they’re headed?” 

Sophocles grunts, tongue sticking out in concentration as he zooms the telescope out slightly and consults a map on another screen. With a few quick calculations, he groans, “I’ve got a rough trajectory, but it’s all the way over on Poni! There’s no way you could make it there before they did.” 

“Well, Soffy, we do have that teleporter...” 

They follow Molayne’s gaze to a nearby corner of a room, where a large, circular platform rests. Although a haphazard tarp covers half of the machine, the metal that can be seen is shiny as though brand new. 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to test it.” Sophocles’ eyes light up as he spins his chair towards the teleportation platform. 

Moon takes a few steps towards it before pausing, turning to look back at the group with a raised brow. “Is it safe?” 

Sophocles looks to the side, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” 

It’s not_ technically _a no. 

She keeps walking, pulling off the tarp as the others watch, Gladion being the first to react as he stomps over to her, as amused as he is horrified. “What are you doing?” 

“Look, I’m the least squishy of us, so if something goes wrong I can handle it.” She steps up onto the platform towards the center, adding with a smirk. “Also, I just thought of a really good line to use.” 

Gladion opens his mouth to argue, sighs instead, and steps up onto the platform next to her. “Move,” he grunts, despite the fact that the platform could easily fit another ten people. 

Moon rolls her eyes, taking a half-step to the left as he joins her. As they get situated, Sophocles dashes to the panel on the wall nearby, carefully typing in his coordinates before turning to the two and giving them a small thumbs-up. 

The Slayer grins. “Beam me up, Soffy.” 

And he presses a final button, the floor of the platform lighting up as the engine whirls to life, filling the room with orange light as Moon and Gladion close their eyes, feeling their bodies growing lighter. 

* * *

_ Traveling to this dimension, which I have dubbed Ultra Space for the time being, may soon be possible. However, what the hypothesized sentient life may look or act like is anyone’s guess at this point in time. _

** _ Explorations of the Sixth Dimension via Wormhole Generator by Professor Mohn, The _****_Alola _****_Aerospace Journal, Issue 37 _ **

* * *

There’s a rush of air, a weightlessness, and then solid ground once more under their feet. 

Moon opens her eyes, blinking as she adjusts to the dark and tries to get her bearings. A canyon of layered orange rock stretches before her, and she realizes that they’re somewhere in Vast Poni Canyon. However, she’s never ventured this far out and takes in the large clearing they’ve been sent to. A long, crumbling staircase winds down the mountain they’re on, and grass pokes out between the cracks of the stonework beneath their feet. There’s the gentle sound of a stream, and water cuts through to create pools. 

She turns, and her jaw nearly drops as she takes in the sculpture that dwarfs her, rising high into the air and bearing a crest she remembers from her Alolan history textbooks as the crest of the Sunne and Moone. 

Which means the Altar of the Sunne and Moone is more than a rumor after all. 

“A Star Trek reference is the best you had?” 

Gladin’s voice cuts through her thoughts, reminding her that there isn’t much time for awe. She turns to face him with a shit-eating grin. “But you got the reference.” He rolls his eyes, but before he can respond, she hears something on the wind, sensing something behind and above them. Just over the horizon, three Nihilego and some small blob of a creature float towards them, and Moon points. “There.” 

They move quickly towards a cluster of bushes off to the side, ducking behind the foliage and watching the quartet of aliens slowly float closer towards the central dais of the altar. Gladion’s brow furrows as he tries to get a better look at them, trying to identify the creature in the center of the Nihilego. “What are they doing?” 

“They seem pretty mindless...” 

A moment later, they hear a distressed, high-pitched twinkling sound. Moon focuses her eyes, and realizes the small face in the midst of the fog making up the smaller creature is clearly unhappy, eyes scanning for an escape. 

Her heart is heavy in her chest as another Nihilego strikes the creature and it lets out another otherworldly yelp. She leans towards Gladion, whispering, “Did any of that research mention their weaknesses?” 

He shakes his head, and Moon reaches into her back pocket only to realize she doesn’t even have a stake – considering they weren’t even sure if the wormhole was going to appear, she certainly wasn’t expecting to have to fight anything. She looks around her, picking up a sizable stone that must have come loose from the dais and moved over time. Giving it a quick toss to get used to its weight, she mumbles, “Rocks seem like a good guess.” 

“You want us to throw rocks at creatures from a different dimension.” Gladion’s voice is a deadpan, his face clearly unimpressed with her. 

Moon scowls. “And what was _your _plan?” 

“...rocks it is.” 

She stands as he grabs another chunk of stone off the ground, shouting at the quartet of Ultra Beasts, “Hey!” The Nihilego pause, turning towards the sound of her voice as the misty alien sinks lower. While she still has the upper-hand, Moon throws the stone brick, managing to nail one of the Nihilego right on the side of its bell. “Pick on someone your own size!” 

A moment later, Gladion manages to strike another one, but the creatures seem unperturbed. However, they leave behind the smaller Ultra Beast, beginning to drift towards the vampire and Slayer. 

Growing desperate, Moon picks up a rock and hits one of them in the tentacles, her shoulders dropping when she realizes it doesn’t even disrupt the Nihilego’s movement. “Well, there goes my idea.” She turns to look at Gladion, the edges of her voice becoming panicked as she asks, “You think of anything?” 

His usually stoic eyes are widening now as he realizes just how badly they’ve messed up. He scans the area around them, gaze settling on a chunk of a collapsed wall to his right. “Yeah.” With a bit of effort and a grunt, he’s able to just pick up the smooth stone that’s nearly twice his size. “Bigger rock.” 

It goes sailing through the air, but just as the boulder is about to make contact with one of the Nihilego, the creature’s body phases in and out of transparency, seeming to blink out of existence just seconds before it would have been hit. Instead, the ruin crashes into the dirt, shaking the ground beneath them, and the remaining two Nihilego continue to approach them. 

They take a few steps back, Moon gulping as she desperately thinks of something to do. If they start running now, they might be able to lose them in Vast Poni Canyon, but considering the state of the stairs, it’s more likely they’d trip and break their necks. 

Something so cold it burns her skin wraps around her ankle. 

She doesn’t realize what’s happened, doesn’t hear Gladion shout her name, until she lands on the stone dais, body scraping against the stone another foot from the momentum. 

When she looks up, head pounding and entire leg burning, she realizes that the Nihilego that phased out of sight had reappeared behind them to toss her across the altar. And try as she might, her body struggles to get up, something besides the impact weighing her down and making her chest seize. She realizes they must have a sort of poison, and just a touch is enough to transfer it. 

Since becoming a vampire, Gladion hasn’t dealt much with fear. 

Not until this moment. 

With Moon down and clutching at her chest, three Nihilego approaching him, and an unidentified UB somewhere, he knows very well that the odds are stacked against him. 

Of course, since becoming a vampire, Gladion has become very familiar with anger. 

The adrenaline races through him and he can vaguely feel his face shifting, sure that his eyes are now a deep red, and black veins have appeared as he hisses at the aliens. 

If he lets that darkness in him go, he would kill them. 

But then he might not stop, and with Moon right there, he can’t risk it and so he keeps that rage just below the surface. 

The Nihilego stop abruptly, but he takes another step forward, hands ready to reach out and strike at them, but one by one they phase in and out, disappearing in a manner of seconds. He’s still not sure if they’re gone, but at least the altar is quiet once more, and he’s able to calm himself, rein those vampire instincts back in before he runs up to Moon, holding out a hand to help her up. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Peachy keen.” She takes his hand and stands with a wince, the worst of her body pain subsiding as she casually keeps her leg back, out of his sight line. “Are they gone?” 

“Seems like it.” The air feels lighter somehow, and as they glance around, they don’t hear or see any signs of them. This time, at least, it seems they’ve scared them off for good. 

“They didn’t seem outright hostile.” Gladion scoffs, and she’s quick to cut him off as she continues, “_ Besides _throwing me, Captain Obvious. But that was more a defensive move, or like they were just as curious about us as we are about them. They were really interested in...” 

Her words drift off as she looks around, managing to spot the creature from earlier as it ducks behind another section of crumbling wall. 

On instinct, Gladion bends down to pick up a nearby rock, raising it before Moon puts a hand over his, forcing him to slowly lower it. 

Still, his voice borders on hostile. “What is it?” 

“Some sort of...space baby.” 

The sigh he emits comes from the depths of his soul as he closes his eyes. “Every day it becomes clearer that you’re related to Sun.” 

Moon ignores him in favor of slowly walking closer to the pile of rubble that the alien of purple and blue mist is hiding behind. Her voice is soft as she crouches, cooing, “Hey little guy.” The creature slowly pokes its head up, staring at her with wide eyes as she smiles, making her body small. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” 

“Might be a tough sell considering what we did to its friends.” 

But she shakes her head, thinking back on the roughhousing and distressed cries. “I don’t think they were his friends.” The small UB pokes its head out further, the two gaseous orbs above its head completely above the wall. “They’re gone now. It’s just us.” 

However, the creature’s eyes flicker to the vampire behind her and once again it’s hidden completely behind the wall with a sound like a windchime. 

With a sigh, Moon turns, giving Gladion a look that he responds to with a raised brow. She shakes her head, gesturing to her crouch, and he realizes what she wants from him. His frown deepens. “No.” 

“You’re gonna have to crouch and use your baby voice.” 

“Is demeaning me your mission in life?” 

She furrows her brows, genuinely caught off guard by his venom. “Since when do I demean you?” 

He scoffs, irritating her further as he mutters, “The nicknames aren’t exactly affectionate.” 

“Whatever gave you that idea, Gladiolus?” She stands, her full attention now on him instead of the scared alien nearby. As usual, he’s managed to push all the right buttons to light her short fuse, and so she argues, “Maybe I’d lighten up on the nicknames if you actually did the laundry for once.” 

“I’m not doing laundry when it’s not even my apartment.” 

“Of course it’s not your apartment – you don’t pay rent.” 

Now he’s just as incensed as her, eyes lighting up in anger as he takes a few steps forward, snapping, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You’re not pulling your weight,” she retorts easily, matching him step for step until they’re only a foot apart. 

“Excuse you, I’m trying to stop my mother.” 

“We_ all _are.” She throws her arms up in near-defeat, but they’re too far in and he’s stoked the fire in her too much to stop now. “And it’s no reason why you should let the dishes pile up.” 

He raises an accusatory finger. “Speaking of dishes, you give me the worst mugs to drink from.” 

“I don’t want my good mugs getting blood all over them!” 

“Well I’m certainly never drinking from you again.” 

“Why the hell not?” She’s not actually sure why she’s so offended by the statement, but it just feels like an insult. 

“Because you–” And for the first time since they’ve started arguing, he pauses, a myriad of unidentifiable emotions passing his eyes before he steps back, pointedly not looking at her as he mumbles under his breath with a certain weight to his words, “Because of your _ reaction _.” 

It’s a polite way of putting it, but still her ears and cheeks burn from the memory, desperate to drop it as she replies, “Okay, we both know I wasn’t exactly in control of that, and you’re the one who made it weird.” 

His mouth opens and closes several times, and when his voice finally does come out it’s pitched just higher enough than usual to give away his distress. “How did I – _ ugh_, so what, you want me to bite you again?” 

She crosses her arms, willing the blush on her face to go away already. “It’s just efficient and I don’t understand why you have to make such a big deal out of it.” 

“Then fine, I’ll feed from you tonight!” 

“Fine!” 

“_Fine.” _

With that finally settled, they turn. 

Only to find that they have an audience. 

Further away on the dais, Lillie sits, jotting frantic notes and smiling at the misty UB, who seems completely enamored and fascinated by the witch, floating around her and making delighted twinkling noises. Kukui is nearby, doing his best to get his own photos and notes for the grimoire. Closer to them, however, Sun and Hau stand with identical grins, clearly enjoying themselves as they watch Gladion and Moon catch onto what’s happening. 

Gladion swallows. “How long have you all been here?” 

“We figured you survived the teleportation, but it took Sophocles a while to power it back up for us,” Sun explains with a shrug. “So like five minutes.” 

Moon bites her cheek. “Then you heard–” 

“Just about all that, cousin.” Hau’s grin grows wider, clearly ready to tease them further only to be cut off by Sun, who furrows his brows at the sight of his sister. 

“What happened to your leg?” 

She tries to hide it again, but it’s too late as both Hau and Gladion also look, realizing that along her right calf, a long, thin burn winds its way up her leg. The druid mumbles, “It looks like the world’s worst jellyfish sting.” 

“One of the Nihilego grabbed me.” Her tone is downright dismissive, and she fidgets under their gaze before jerking her chin towards Lillie, Kukui, and the unidentified UB. “They seemed to be interested in that little guy, but left pretty quickly after we tried to fight them.” 

Lillie and Kukui look up, joining the conversation as the Watcher consults his phone. “Nothing comes up in the grimoire.” 

“And there isn’t any description of something similar in the UB files.” Lillie frowns at her notes, only to be laughing a moment later when the UB chirps and nuzzles gently at her face; it feels a bit like frost. With a proud smile, she looks to the others as she says, “I suppose that means we’ll be the first to start a file on him.” 

Hau walks towards her, stopping when the alien notices him and freezes, looking up at the druid with wide eyes. He crouches with a smile, holding out a hand until the curious UB floats forward with a twinkle. “You should probably think of a name before Sun does.” 

“Well jokes on you, because I have a good one this time,” Sun scoffs, all eyes turning to him. With no hesitation and far too much confidence, he says, “Battlestar Galactifart.” 

Silence falls over the group as they seem to go through all five stages of grief at once. 

“Not your best,” Moon mumbles through the physical pain. 

Sun lets out a disappointed breath through his teeth, shaking his head. “No, that was bad even for me.” 

Kukui clears his throat, typing something out on his phone before looking up and offering, “What about Cosmog as the official name?” 

They consider it, nodding and humming in agreement as Lillie jots it down in her notes. She looks back up to see the Cosmog floating back towards her, seeming to sniff at her pencil as she giggles. “I think I’m going to call him Nebby.” When she lightly pats one of the circles of mist above his head, it’s almost painfully cold, but the UB twinkles, a smile clear on its face that the witch mirrors. “It just seems to fit.” 

As Kukui texts Molayne to let him know they’re ready to be teleported back, Sun feigns a huff. "No fair that you get the cool alien pet.” 

The others laugh as Lillie stands, all except for Gladion. His eyes spark in amusement and annoyance as he glances over at Moon, and before he can think better of it, he mutters, “So long as you don’t complain about him not paying rent.” 

And just like that, they’re back at it, the Slayer nearly growling as she turns to look at him. “That doesn’t even make _sense, _and you have the actual ability to pay.” 

“I sleep on the couch, why would I pay?” 

While they bicker, Nebby chimes several times in a sort of laugh, the others smiling and laughing along with the little UB. Despite the creature’s initial shyness, now Nebby easily floats among them, curious like a child with wide eyes, leaving the group utterly charmed and wondering just how something so sweet can be a part of anything nefarious. 

* * *

Aether Paradise has been closed to the public for a year, and the conservation area on the top floor has become restricted access even for staff. 

The area used to house injured fauna of Alola as a sort of rehabilitation center. Now, the animals have been cleared out, but the vast stretches of biome are far from empty. 

Dozens of Nihilego float aimlessly in the air, crying out occasionally, like a sonar system looking for someone they’ve lost. The glass ceiling reveals the stars and moon above them, providing little light as the aliens seem to become ghosts, haunting the halls of a once great organization. 

Wicke suppresses a shudder at the sight, gripping her clipboard tighter. She watches on one of the walking platforms as the newest trio of UBs to appear move towards the center of the room. Just like all the others, they’ve been lured here, and let out distressed cries when they realize their target has turned out to be a contraption of cold metal and otherworldly green light. 

It’s downright pitiful to watch, but Wicke swallows her guilt as she glances back down at her clipboard, unable to stand the sight in front of her much longer as she recites, “We’ve managed to replicate the exact energy reading that the key should give off, so all UBs that have been brought through the wormholes will continue to converge on Aether Paradise.” 

Lusamine makes no noise as she listens, instead tapping her nails against the railing in front of her, her expression unreadable. 

Wicke tries to remember the last time she’s looked human – even before she sought out a vampire to turn her, there was always something off about the witch’s eyes, something left behind and twisted by the grief of losing her husband. 

“Have we made any progress on finding the actual key?” 

“Negative.” 

The sound of nails against metal stops, and Wicke chances a glance upward. 

Though she prides herself on being emotionless, on having given up her soul even before being sired, Lusamine still has her tells. After Wicke’s answer, her body grows incredibly still, her eyes narrow a fraction, and her jaw clenches. 

She’s furious, and now it’s only a matter of who she’s going to direct that fury towards. 

If they’ll survive it is another matter entirely. 

“You’re dismissed.” 

Wicke holds in her breath of relief, quick to turn on her heel and begin walking towards the elevator; if she reveals too much of her hand now, if she lets Lusamine catch onto her reluctance, then all of this will fall apart and the siblings escaping will have been for naught. 

As she walks, she sees two figures approaching. She thinks to warn them about Lusamine’s ill mood, but then she recognizes them and her steps only quicken as she passes them. 

Guzma gives her a hiss, cackling at her flinch, but Plumeria keeps her eyes forward, distaste evident in her gaze. It only grows the closer they get to the observation deck, trapped Nihilego following their steps from a safe distance. 

“I recall telling you to not come back unless you were bringing me the corpse of the Slayer.” 

Lusamine doesn’t turn to face them, instead stopping them with a voice of ice. Her pale skin glows in the moonlight, and for a moment she seems like just another of the Nihilego, waiting for a misstep to attack, waiting for something that will never come. 

Years have gone into tracking down the region’s Slayer. Her inactivity made things difficult, but the importance of taking her out before enacting her plan only pushed Lusamine to look harder, to use her Aether employees in the field to report the scarce signs of activity with greater detail. When the girl had disappeared for four years she nearly screamed until she realized she was studying abroad and bound to return. Eventually, she tracked her down, and her entire family, with the help of Wicke (and was none the wiser that the human woman was sneaking clues to her escaped son). 

If they don’t take out the Slayer, it will be a waste of time and energy, and puts everything she has given up her soul for in jeopardy. Not to mention the stupid girl took out Faba, who while insipid, was also spineless and easy enough to bend. 

Thinking about it, now Lusamine is past the point of furious. 

Guzma hesitates; by now, he’s long learned when to spot her moods. Still, he knows that she needs him, she’s said so herself, and so he steps forward, the words flying out of his mouth with a confidence he’s always been able to afford. “It’d be easier if I had a few more upgrades...” 

She turns, and her face is a terror of black veins and distorted features, green light becoming a halo for her body as she seethes, “You want me to reward your failure?” 

Plumeria steps in front of Guzma, unflinching as she stares down the thing most recently responsible for ruining her life. “We want your help. If you want her to go down so badly, then put a little more skin in the game.” 

The air between them is venomous – as much as Plumeria may hate Lusamine, the feeling is returned tenfold. However, the blonde woman’s face shifts back to her usual features, her green eyes looking past Plumeria to the vampire behind her. The green energy dissipates, and she softens her face as she side-steps Plumeria, reaching a hand out to caress Guzma’s cheek. Her voice transforms from vinegar to honey as she smiles. “You_ have _been working hard, dear. In spite of your uncooperative assistant, I’ll work on something for you, for the power you crave.” 

It all serves to anger Plumeria, and it serves that purpose well as she can only watch in silent fury as Guzma leans into the touch, grinning even as Lusamine withdraws her hand. As she turns back around to continue watching her growing collection of Ultra Beasts, Plumeria is more than ready to throttle Guzma, to try and knock sense into him for the umpteenth time. 

Now, though, she’ll settle for simply leaving, but when she tries to catch Guzma’s eye to communicate that, he’s instead focused on Lusamine’s back. 

“What do you think of them?” 

A Nihilego lets out an echoing cry, and Plumeria frowns; she thinks they’re out of place, that they look pitiful. She knows, however, that if she says another word that Lusamine will eviscerate her, and she doesn’t feel like starting a fight. Instead, Guzma speaks up, his eyes wandering to a cluster of Nihilego as he grunts, “They’re beautiful.” 

“They’re _imperfect.” _

The Skulls nearly flinch at the immediate, visceral answer. Lusamine composes herself, rolling her shoulders back once more and keeping her voice chilled and even as she explains, “They have something of a soul. It’s why they’re relatively docile, and simply seeking a means to return to their dimension. Once I find a way to remove it, I’ll finally have the perfect creatures to populate the ruins of this world.” 

Plumeria glances at Guzma, praying that he’s hearing this, hearing the delusion. Maybe he’s finally going to snap out of whatever hold the witch-vampire has over him. 

But he’s enraptured, hanging onto every word. 

Lusamine sighs, disgust creeping into her voice. “Souls are such messy, horrible things. They complicate all interactions, hold beings back from their ultimate power. Nothing with a soul will ever be perfect. It’s why I believe Slayers are driving the world to ruin by preventing others from losing their souls.” 

She turns, but her eyes don’t settle on Guzma, and her smile isn’t placating but provoking. 

“Don’t you agree, Plumeria?” 

Plumeria swallows, risking a glance at Guzma, but he seems completely mystified by the Nihilego, all his concentration going to the fascination and fear playing across his face. She looks back at Lusamine, who waits for her answer with a tilt of her head, though it looks more like a snake waiting to strike. 

“...yes.” 

Lusamine hums, pleased with the timidity, and she turns back around to watch her Nihilego float past. 

And Plumeria tries not to think that her and Guzma are no better off than the poor creatures. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plumeria is the person screaming at the dumb protagonist in the horror movie except the horror movie is her life and the dumb protagonist is her coven leader/romantic something and the screaming has to be silent, in her head
> 
> anyway, we have the very important introduction of Nebby (and a dip into sci-fi along with it, sort of) and Lusamine's first appearance in the fic, and hopefully it's fitting for our Big Bad...


	11. cult of personality

[[♪ Hallelujah - Panic! at the Disco ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJeTUb_J1D0)

_ This is nice, _Moon thinks as she takes another sip of wine,_This__ is normal. _

“This” being the date she’s currently on. As mortifying as her mother referring to Gladion as a “romantic friend” during their last phone call was, it also reminded the Slayer that it’s been a while since she’s dated. Sure, the timing isn’t the greatest with work being busy and the end being nigh, but she could use a break from the unrelenting strangeness of her life. Maybe this bar in Malie City isn’t her favorite, and her date hasn’t been the wittiest, but so far, it’s been nice. It’s been _normal. _

She adjusts her hair, careful not to move the curls too out of place as her date, a young man in finance she matched with on an app, sets his drink back down on the bar. “C’mon,” he chuckles, in that just-shy-of-irritating way he has been for most of the night, “You graduated from Sinnoh’s top university, you’re a pharmacist, you have great taste in music – what's your secret?” 

And she chokes on her wine. 

He leans forward to give her back a few pats, his hand lingering after she clears her throat. “Just a normal girl, Seth.” She gives him what she hopes is a convincing smile, one that covers the tightness of her tone, before redirecting his attention to his favorite subject. “What about you? Any secrets I should know about?” 

“A few.” His grin is almost charming, almost enough to cover up the fact that his personality is dry and seems to mostly consist of his investment banking job that his father no doubt got him. If Gladion were here, he’d comment on the guy’s stock photo haircut and roll his eyes at the subpar jokes. 

Moon smothers that particular thought quickly with another sip of wine. 

“Mysterious,” she chuckles, leaning an arm on the bar as she flutters her lashes. “Can you tell me one?” 

Seth takes a sip of his scotch; he isn’t one for girly cocktails as he told her earlier (and she had to work extremely hard to suppress her eye roll). “I know the owner of the bar. She’s a good friend.” 

It’s the most interesting thing he’s said all night, and she sits up a little straighter. “How’d you meet her?” 

“She’s a community organizer in her spare time, and she recently helped open my eyes to some big issues.” 

When he looks at her again, there’s something off in his gaze, and Moon feels herself growing on edge as she realizes the entire place has fallen into silence, whatever low music coming out of the wall speakers having stopped. Out of the corners of her eyes, she realizes the bartender and other patrons have also stilled. 

Everyone’s watching her. 

Seth smiles like a cat batting a mouse from paw to paw. 

“And you’re going to help us solve them.” 

She grabs her glass, wine flying out as she lifts it to smash against his head, but before she can there’s a sharp pain on the back of her head that sends her body dropping to the floor and her mind flying into darkness. 

When she wakes up, she’s in a storage room, bound to a chair by rope. 

Hushed whispers of Latin slowly cease as she comes to consciousness, taking in her surroundings and blinking away the lingering pain of blunt force trauma to the head. 

She looks around at the long velvet robes of the hooded figures surrounding her, all bearing the same insignia of a fist holding a stake, and she gets the sinking feeling that the stupid dating app she downloaded has just gotten her into the middle of a cult. 

Moon sighs, because of course this is how her Friday night is going to go, and she sinks further into the chair. 

“Well someone’s not getting a second date.” 

* * *

Technically, Moon’s been gone for over four hours. 

And technically, Gladion isn’t worried. 

It’s just odd, he figures, considering she said she’d text him if she ended up staying out past midnight. She’d given him the name of the bar, and her date, and the promise that she’d text him to make sure she was still alive. It’d been half-joking, but the promise was still there. 

But things happen. Maybe she’s too caught up in enjoying herself to remember to text him, or her phone died. Besides, she’s a Slayer, so she can handle herself. 

At a quarter past midnight, Gladion convinces himself that it’s nothing, that of course he isn’t worried about someone who’s essentially just an annoying coworker, and he really should just take advantage of her absence to grab a quick bite outside a bar. 

At half past midnight, Gladion is pacing in their living room. 

He realizes, of course, that an outside eye might think he’s worried, which is a ridiculous notion. He has better things to think about than the Slayer (and she definitely hasn’t been popping up in his thoughts more often than he’d like). There’s no way he’s worried – people worry over friends and family, and they aren’t friends. 

So he’s just going to text her for a completely unrelated reason, and then he’s going to head out and not spend another minute on Moon. 

**From: ****Gladion**** [24:39]**   
_You’re out of coffee again._

A perfectly innocent text that could in no way be misconstrued as worrying. 

Because he’s not worried about anyone, except maybe Lillie. Gladion can’t really afford that luxury, not now when his main focus needs to remain on stopping his mother and any distraction could mean the end of the world. 

Besides, connections would only hold him back, only give him something to lose again. 

It would give someone else the power to hurt him. 

There’s a sour taste in his mouth that he ignores. If anything, he should be thankful that she isn’t texting him back right now. It should clear his mind of her and give him all the more reason to head out already and find some drunkard to sip from. 

But he remains frozen in the living room, watching the minutes tick by on his phone and stewing in the silence. 

He decides he’ll text her brother, figuring if anyone would be worried, it’d be Sun. That’ll settle his mind once and for all. 

**From: ****Gladion**** [24:52]**   
_Have you heard from Moon recently?_

**From: Sun [24:55]**   
_nah, so I guess that date’s going well_

In a strange twist of events, Sun’s nonchalance doesn’t relax him at all. Instead, his shoulders tense as he slides his phone into his back pocket, mind made up as he grabs his keys and heads out the door. 

He’ll go and check to see if she’s still at the bar. It won’t take that long, after all. 

Besides, she really should know that she’s out of coffee. 

Really, he’s not worried, and he certainly doesn’t care. 

* * *

All things considered, Moon isn’t worried. 

If she wanted, she could easily break her rope restraints. It’s what she would do after that’s stumping her, as she’s been left to sit in this storage room for what feels like an hour. Most of the hooded figures have left her, with only one by the door facing her. 

She’s scanned the room as much as she can, and hasn’t found anything too useful. Unopened crates and a shelf of cleaning supplies take up the small space around her. She turns her attention to the figure in front of her instead, who watches her silently. 

Though she can’t see any of their features, they at least don’t look much bigger than her. She could take them down easily if they’re human, but then what? She needs a better idea of where she is and how many people she’d be up against if she wants a good shot at escaping. There’s also the fact that she recognizes the red velvet robe from a dream of events that haven’t taken place yet, so she gets the feeling whatever her next move will be, it won’t lead to her getting out of here anyway. 

Still, she could use a little more information, as no one’s talked to her since she’s woken up. 

“You know, this still isn’t the worst first date I’ve ever been on.” 

The hooded figure watching her crosses their arms tighter, and Moon raises a brow. “Nothing? Not even a giggle?” She sighs, shaking her head at the silence. “Tough crowd.” 

“...I’m not supposed to talk to you.” 

It’s a feminine voice that sounds fairly human. The Slayer sits up a little, trying to get a better glimpse of the figure’s features, but they step back, as if they’ve already revealed too much. 

“Why is that?” 

“Because we’re sacrificing you tonight, and that’ll be hard to do if I like you.” 

_ A sacrifice, _she thinks with a frown, _Why__ is it always human sacrifices with these cultists? _At least her suspicions were correct, then, and she can safely assume her dream was of the ceremony. She can't quite keep the annoyance out of her voice as she asks, “Any particular reason I’m on the chopping block, or were you all just in the mood for it?” 

“It’s sort of complicated.” The hooded figure bristles, puffing their chest out with some strange pride, tone downright condescending. “You wouldn’t get it.” 

Moon raises a brow. “Sounds like you don’t get it either.” 

And it strikes the exact nerve she was hoping to hit, as the figure scoffs, “I do.” 

“Sure, buddy.” 

“I_ get it.” _

“Uh huh.” She rolls her eyes, fighting the smirk that wants to take over her lips as she hears the cultist growl in frustration and indignation. It’s almost too easy to get someone monologuing about their evil plan. 

With a huff, the words come pouring out, the figure uncrossing their arms to gesticulate as they explain, “Look, we’re the Society of the Slain, and our leader knows how to stop the end of the world, but it requires the ritualistic sacrifice of women.” 

There are about seventeen faults in logic here, but Moon doesn’t have the time nor the energy to begin to unpack them. Instead, she simply prods, “But why?” 

“You wouldn’t get it.” 

She very nearly screams; her already thin patience is thread-bare at this point, and it takes all her self-control to not burst out of her restraints and throttle the cultist. Clearly, this line of questioning won’t get them anywhere, and so instead she asks, “How is the world supposed to end according to your leader?” 

The hooded figure clears their throat, squaring their shoulders with grave seriousness. “A woman will rise up and destroy humanity, but we won’t know who until it’s too late.” 

Moon raises a brow. “So you’re just going to systematically murder women until, what? Until there’s none left in Alola?” 

“It’s not that at all, it’s a _sacrifice.” _

And before the Slayer can scream at them that that doesn’t make sense, that none of this makes any sense at all, the storage room door opens once more. A figure in an identical velvet robe steps inside, nodding to the other cultist as they say, “Sister Fatima, it is time.” 

They turn to Moon, wary as they approach her to untie the ropes keeping her bound to the chair. 

Originally, she considered taking it easy on these guys, on simply biding her time to escape before meeting up with the others to think on what to do. Now, she realizes she’s surrounded by a group of violent idiots who’ve picked the wrong scape goat. 

She smiles. “Let’s get this show on the road.” 

* * *

_ W__e __are not a cult, we'__re a group of individuals concerned about the signs pointing to the collapse of the universe _ _ who are led by our generation’s savior, and we will not tolerate nonbelievers. The idea that anyone would call us a cult is ridiculous, and this interview is over. _

_ We’re leaving, this is – no, it’s a pull, stop...stop pushing it’s a pull door. _

** _ Excerpt from an interview of the Society of the Slain by _****_Alola_****_ Channel 4 News _ **

* * *

They lead her out to the main basement area, with walls covered in tapestries of blood red and black, the only light provided by candelabras in corners. At the front of the room is a raised platform outlined in candles melted to the stone, with a large stone slab in the center. However, they keep Moon at the back of the room as more members filter in, filling the room as they chant but keeping a center aisle clear. 

There’s a staircase a few feet away from her, and Moon keeps her eyes on the door at the top. Eventually, just before the room is completely full, the door opens, two more cultists entering and shutting it behind them. From what she can see, they’re in the basement of the bar. 

If she tears out of the rope restraints binding her wrists behind her back, she can easily take out the two hooded figures guarding her and make a dash for the stairs. 

However, she’s kind of having a good time watching this hokey mess of a ritual. 

The Latin everyone is chanting sounds broken and ill-rehearsed, and she can hear several cultists complaining about sightlines. At several points, hoods fall down and reveal human faces, members of the Society of the Slain quick to pull them back up while muttering under their breath. 

It’s almost endearing. 

Almost, but then Moon remembers that she isn’t the first participant of this sacrifice and her anger flares up again. 

A figure takes the stage, and she assumes it must be the leader considering their robe has an additional border of gold embroidery along the sleeves. They raise their arms, silencing the crowd and revealing pale forearms as the sleeves fall slightly. “My children, we have gathered to make yet another sacrifice to save the planet.” They lower one arm to gesture to a figure in the front. “It is thanks to Brother Seth that we are able to appease the forces above us once more.” 

Moon glares at the back of his head. “Yeah,_ thanks Seth.” _

_ “S I L E N C E!” _

A few cultists flinch, and the Slayer furrows her brows, because that was a distinctly inhuman voice. It doesn’t sit right with her, and so she narrows her eyes, trying to make out the face of the leader, but from this distance and with their hood it’s impossible. 

She watches carefully as one of the leader’s hands goes into their robe, bringing out a wooden stake, with the handle heavily engraved with several stone inlays. They give the stake a few unnecessary twirls through the air before stopping and pointing directly at Moon. 

“Bring me the girl.” 

Her heart stops for a moment as the two cultists at her sides grab her shoulders and the reality of the situation sinks in. She walks stiffly, letting them guide her as she does a rough headcount. There are only two dozen or so cultists here, and so far, the only one that seems to be anything supernatural is the leader. 

Logic then follows that if she can take out the head honcho, that should be more than enough to turn the tables. 

They step up onto the stage, the leader stepping aside so that the two hooded figures by Moon can force her to lay on her back on the stone slab. They then step back, their leader taking their place once more, raising the stake over Moon’s chest. 

“With the blood we spill tonight, may we prevent our own bloodshed.” 

Subpar Latin fills the air once more, and the last of a plan crystallizes in Moon’s mind. She takes a deep breath to calm her racing heart. 

The hooded figure raises the stake higher as they chant, the other member’s voices echoing the Latin phrases. 

There’s a cruel irony to her being staked, but she can’t focus on that now – the timing has to be just right, and she can feel the weaker ropes binding her wrists beginning to snap. 

* * *

Gladion walks out of the Ula’ula ferry terminal and towards Malie City, realizing a little too late in his very calm, not-worried-at-all plan that there’s a good chance Moon’s left the bar by now. Still, he doesn’t have anything else to go on, and hopefully the place is still open and someone would recognize her from a verbal description. It’d be more helpful if he had a photo of her on his phone. 

...should he take a photo of her? She gets into trouble often enough; it could prove useful. He snorts at the thought of having to make “Have You Seen This Slayer?” posters to line the walls of Alola. 

But that’s something to focus on _ after _he makes sure she hasn’t gotten into any trouble. At this point, he’ll just have to rely on his own description of her. 

He starts composing it in his head as the entrance to Malie City comes into view. _Have you seen a short girl with black hair and gray eyes? Freckles. Quiet but seems confident__, almost arrogant__. When she __smiles __she gets a dimple in her left cheek – _**_wait. _ **

Why on earth does he know that? 

His phone ringing nearly startles him, and he fumbles to answer it after he sees that it’s Kukui calling. He texted the Watcher on the ferry, but he didn’t expect a response so soon. 

“Hey cousin, I just checked out that bar you sent me.” 

Kukui’s voice has an undercurrent of something that itches Gladion’s skin, making him frown as he asks, “And?” 

“And I think Moon’s in trouble.” 

Without realizing, his footsteps pick up in speed and his eyes scan the building numbers, figuring the bar must be in the back, closer to the library. Kukui continues, clearly trying to hide his distress as he explains, “It has connections to cult activity, and a few indirect links to some disappearances of local women. I know she can handle herself, but if you could just check on–” 

“Got it.” He hangs up, having heard more than enough to convince himself that he was right to worry. 

Of course, he’s probably overreacting. Kukui’s right in saying that she can handle herself, and as Gladion has to remind himself, they aren’t really friends. None of this is his problem. 

He breaks into a run. 

* * *

The chanting reaches a crescendo and the stake comes down towards her heart. 

And Moon breaks the last of the ropes, catching the stake inches from her skin and using her legs and the momentum to toss the leader off the stage and into the other cultists. 

The stake is still in her hand as she stands up on the stone slab, surveying the crowd as they gasp and step back, all heads turned towards her. Their leader stands, and the hood falls, revealing a woman with fiery red hair and eyes to match. The pale skin of her face is lined with black veins, and she opens her mouth to reveal vampire fangs as she gawks, “The Slayer!” She turns, her eyes landing on Seth. “You brought me_ the Slayer _?” 

He pales, stepping further back as his gaze flickers between the vampire and Moon as he argues, “She kept saying she was just a normal girl.” 

Moon has half a mind to be offended as she rolls her eyes. “Well I was clearly being modest.” 

As she scans the room, she feels something snap within her, like a rubber band finally giving in to pressure, like the universe finally thrown into entropy. 

Because she can’t be a normal person. Try as she might, she’ll fill prescriptions during the day and fight the forces of evil by night. A white picket fence and two and a half children are laughable notions, not realistic goals. Her Friday nights will probably never be nice and normal dates with mediocre guys. 

But if her giving all that up means everyone else in Alola gets to sleep peacefully, gets to raise their own families, gets to go on dates that don’t end in death, then it’s past time for her to dive into the weird. 

(And besides, she’d by lying if she said she didn’t miss the adrenaline rush, didn’t miss the thrill of a battle tactic gone right.) 

She looks down at the shocked faces below, gripping the stake tighter in her hand as a smirk tugs at her lips and for the first time in a long time, she truly feels in control of her life. 

“It’s obvious that I’m out of your guys’ league.” Her gaze lands on the angered vampire, and she only grins wider. “Especially you, Undead Ginger Spice.” 

The vampire unleashes a growl and Moon jumps off the stone slab, landing on top of her and sending both of them rolling on the ground. The leader manages to slip out of her grasp, the two standing and circling each other as the other cult members murmur among each other, causing the Slayer to pause. 

“What, did nobody realize your ‘savior’ is a vampire?” 

A guy in the far-left corner pipes up sheepishly, “It makes a lot more sense why she drank their blood now...” 

Moon’s jaw drops to just about the floor. _My god, they really are idiots. _

She’s snapped out of the thought rather violently when the vampire lunges. Though she manages to bring up the stake and leave a decent cut across her chest, she’s also not quite able to side-step the grab. A long, angry gash is left on her right arm when she manages to shove the vampire off of her and send her flying into the opposite wall. 

The robe falls off her body as the vampire slides down the wall with a groan, but as Moon makes another dash at her, she grabs a torch off the wall and throws it. The Slayer stops in time to throw her arms over her face and miss most of it, but she hisses when she feels the flames lick her left arm. Several cultists scream as the torch continues to sail towards them, but Moon is quick to recover and finish her sprint to the vampire against the wall. 

But she’s had time to prepare, and grabs the Slayer’s arm, the two of them stuck in a grapple. 

When the vampire speaks again, her voice is more animal than human. “Slayer or not, you’re going down just like all the others.” 

And she manages to overpower her, throwing her until Moon feels her back hit something at an angle, unable to keep from yelling out in pain. When she stands on shaky legs, she realizes she’s hit the stone slab, and it’s definitely going to leave a mark. 

As the leader comes in for a final blow, Moon uses her momentum against her, managing to get her on the slab before joining her, pinning her to the stone. She raises the stake in her hand, and now the fear is clear on the vampire’s face as she struggles, and Moon can’t help but wonder if this is what the other woman looked like moments before, and every part of her wants to scream. 

She settles on a hiss, angry tears pricking at her eyes. “Not as fun when_ you’re _the sacrifice, huh?” 

The stake comes down with perfect accuracy and the body underneath her turns to dust, leaving her to catch her breath as she drops the stake to the ground. When she looks up at the rest of the room, all the hoods of the cultists’ robes are down, their eyes in wide disbelief as they stare at the dust that was once their leader. 

With another deep breath, she ignores the pain seizing her back and stands, hands on her hips. “Listen up, because I’m only saying this once.” She makes sure to stare every one of them down as she speaks, her voice growing steadier as she continues, “I’m the Slayer. I protect humanity, even from other humans, apparently. As of today, the Society of the Slain is disbanded, and if you ever meet again or decide on another sacrifice, I’ll be there to stop it, just like this one. You think a woman is going to end the world? Then this woman is here to stop it, so leave the saving the world to me.” 

Her eyes scan the crowd a moment longer, letting the words settle as she finds a familiar face. “And Seth?” He flinches, shoulders hunched as he all but cowers under her gaze, and she smirks. “Delete my number.” 

There are a few seconds of shuffling feet on the ground, and then Moon sighs, feeling the headache coming on from having to deal with these buffoons. 

“Now get out before I change my mind.” 

* * *

Gladion slams the door of the bar open, eyes wide and wild and fully expecting to see a massacre with how worked up his own imagination has made him in regards to the worst possible scenario. 

Instead, the bar is empty, save for a single figure behind the bar popping the cap off of a bottle of top-shelf whiskey. 

Moon raises the bottle in his direction before taking her first sip. “Hey Flower Boy.” 

He can’t help his dumbstruck stare as he steps further into the bar, front door swinging shut behind him. As he looks around, waiting for some trap to spring, he only confirms what his first glance told him. The bar is empty, half-finished drinks littering the tables as though the patrons simply up and left. 

When he turns to face Moon, she’s leaning against the bar, watching him with an amused twinkle in her eyes. He takes a few more steps forward, pointing aimlessly at the space around him as his words fall flat. “There’s a cult here.” 

“Yeah. Found that one out the hard way.” She says it with a chuckle, but it turns into a wince. As she lifts the bottle to her lips once more to take an even longer sip, he sees the gash on one arm, smelling the dried blood, and a burn on the other. “Shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” 

His brows knit together. “We need to get you to a hospital.” 

He’s stepping towards her but she holds up a hand, shaking her head. “I’m fine.” 

“At least see Lillie, she can–” 

“Let’s just go home.” Her voice is sharp and sure as she grabs the bottle of whiskey and starts walking around the bar. A moment later, though, she stops, unable to bite back a yelp as she leans her body against the bar, her back seizing up again. 

Gladion feels his chest clench, and his hands have become shaking fists. She tries to stand up straight, forcing her face to go neutral in the hopes that he’ll drop this and they’ll go on pretending nothing is wrong, but he’s past that point. He’s spent the past few hours accomplishing major feats of mental gymnastics to prove he doesn’t care, but he drops them all at this moment as he realizes she doesn’t seem to care about herself either. 

“I don’t know who lied to you or _ how _you got it into your head, but you don’t have to be okay all the time.” His anger flares, because it’s always been his go-to outlet, and he steps forward, eyes blazing as he says, “You can admit that you’re a mess.” 

She raises a brow. “Was that supposed to make me feel better?” 

But she won’t derail him, not when he’s remembering how she looked in that bed after Po Town, and how she keeps offering herself up as bait or a blood bag. “What I’m saying is that you spend too much time worrying about others and trying to keep up appearances. Being a Slayer doesn’t mean you stop being Moon, and you need to take care of yourself because you’re important.” 

The pause is only there for a moment, but it’s _ there _, and by the time he adds, “To keeping Alola safe,” it falls a little too flatly. 

Moon swallows thickly, and she drags her eyes from his to the floor with a frown. “I don’t want people to worry over me.” 

“Yeah, well, too late.” 

She looks back up at him with confusion across her brow, and his tongue feels heavy as he chastises himself for coming so close to crossing the boundary that he’s set up for them. He adds quickly, flippantly, “Because Kukui was worried sick when he found out this place is headquarters for a cult.” 

It’s clear she’s not entirely convinced with the way a corner of her lips is threatening to quirk up into a lopsided grin, but he shakes his head, not willing to spend another minute on that conversation. “Now come on, let’s get you to Lillie.” But when he walks to help her lean against him, she swats him away, trying to stand and walk on her own as he huffs, “Don’t make me pick you up.” 

“So handsy, Casanova.” 

But she wraps an arm around his shoulders, neither of them looking at each other as he helps her walk out. The night air is nice as they step outside of the bar and take a breath, continuing their walk to the ferry terminal, thankful that no one else seems to be out this late to question them. 

Gladion finds his eyes continuing to flicker back to her form at his side, the arm around her waist keeping her close to him. By now he realizes that he’s not half as distant with her as he thinks he should be; he certainly wouldn’t be half-carrying her to get help if he truly didn’t care. 

He hums in thought to himself, conceding with a frown,_ Fine, maybe I care__ a little. _

They walk in relative silence for a few minutes, but as they step out of Malie City, Moon clears her throat. “Listen, I know I give you a lot of shit, but,” she sighs, looking up at him with a small, genuine smile for the first time as she whispers, “Thank you, Gladion.” 

_ There’s the dimple. _

His heart hasn’t beat in two years, but he swears he feels something in his chest and he’s clearing his throat, tearing his eyes away from her as he mutters under his breath, “Don’t mention it.” 

_ Shit, I care a lot. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seth may or may not be based on Goomy's experiences with modern dating (though I have yet to be kidnapped by a cult, so that's a small mercy) and the cult leader is actually based on a Pokevillain from a different gen!
> 
> also it's about time someone called Moon out for treating herself like a punching bag. now if only someone could yell at Gladion that he's allowed to feel things and have friends


	12. panic! at the music festival

[[♪ PoW! - FEMM ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz3jLeDvpu4)

Rush hour traffic has hit Melemele, which means that Moon’s car has been inching down Hau’oli City’s main street for fifteen minutes. It wouldn’t be an issue, considering she’s used to it with her after work commute, but it's made so much worse by the person in her front passenger seat. 

Sun can’t settle on a radio station to save his life, flitting through AM and FM channels every time they hit a commercial break. She’s just about ready to snap at her younger brother when he finally decides on the Top 40’s station that he’s been listening to since high school. The only reason she hasn’t kicked him out of the car yet is because his own pickup truck is stuck in the repair shop; he called her at the end of her shift begging for a ride home after his car broke down and had to be towed. 

Which is an unfortunate, but now a semi-annual, occurrence – one that lumps Moon into its suffering as she has to play chauffer until the repair shop works a minor miracle to get the car back in working order. 

As Sun hums along to a pop song and the stoplight finally changes to green, she can’t help but mutter, “It’s past time for you to sell that truck.” 

“C’mon Moonbeam, it was mom’s car.” She frowns at the use of her full name and the realization that Sun’s always been the more sentimental one. When Moon went abroad for college, he was more than happy to inherit the old truck. The problem now is that he won’t let go of it. 

“It’s_ older than us_.” Moon slowly brakes as they hit yet another red light. “And I don’t want to have to be your personal Uber the next seven times it breaks down.” 

“Good, because I’d rate you very poorly.” 

He smirks, looking out his window with a chuckle as she rolls her eyes, deciding to turn up the radio rather than deign him with an answer. _“–they’re set to headline __Sandscript__ so you’ll be wanting to memorize the lyrics to this one! It’s the __Wishiwashi __with ‘Drown.’” _

An upbeat bass begins, followed quickly by a boppy first verse sung by three women. Despite herself, Moon finds herself tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the beat. As they hit their last stoplight before the turn for Sun’s apartment, Moon turns to say, “Hey, this is actually...” 

But her brother has a thousand-mile stare out the front windshield. As much as she may joke about him having nothing between his ears, this time he actually looks it. His hands slowly move to his seatbelt, unbuckling it while continuing to stare straight ahead. “Sun?” 

Without a word, he unlocks the car door and steps out, walking in a trance as Moon shouts, “Sun!” She turns off the car, cutting off the music as she leans out her window. “_S__unshine__A__keakamai__ Hoshizaki! _ _ ” _

Finally, he stops, just a few feet from the car, blinking out of his daze. He turns around, brows furrowed as he realizes he’s out in the middle of the street. “Wh-what happened?” he asks as he walks back to the car, trying to retrace the past few minutes but coming up with only a blank space in his mind. 

“I’m not sure,” Moon mumbles, but as she looks around, she realizes the rest of traffic has also come to a stand-still. A few cars begin honking, drawing the siblings’ attention to several other men out in the street, similarly dazed. The Slayer starts up her car as her brother slides back into the passenger seat, and her eyes widen when the radio comes back to life and the last notes of a guitar fill the air and it clicks into place. 

“But I get the feeling these girls add a magic touch to their music production.” 

* * *

They gather in Moon’s living room, Gladion quick to try and look up the band while Kukui is even quicker to pull up the grimoire entry he suspects, passing it around to the group as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall. 

“Sirens are cut from the same cloth as mermaids, but their souls gain a darker edge when a grudge overtakes them.” Lillie scans the phone as it’s passed to her on the couch, the bag at her feet giving off a tinkling sound as Nebby peeks out at the commotion. Hau grins down at the creature, letting it out to float between him and Lillie as Kukui continues, “Historically, that’s been sailors who have encroached on their waters. And, well, they take the term man-eater to a whole new level when they’re feeling hungry.” 

Sun frowns from his spot on the couch, confusion clear in his brows. “But it worked on me, and I don’t even like girls.” 

“It’s not about being attracted to _ them _,” Moon pipes up, the others glancing over to where she sits on the armrest of her living room chair. Her couch is currently overflowing with her brother, best friend, newest friend, and an Ultra Beast, and Gladion refuses to move from his seat on the armchair. She perches herself on the armrest just to irritate him, leaning against the back of the chair as she explains, “They specifically play into whoever’s desires they’re targeting, and I guess in this case it’s all men.” 

“And they got radio play on it – sirens of the twenty-first century.” Hau chuckles as Nebby becomes fascinated by the smartphone in Lillie’s hand, delighting in the brightly lit screen; it’s not the most conducive to their meeting, but Kukui and Lillie couldn’t leave the poor thing at home, especially when they’ve discovered just how mischievous Nebby can be. No doubt the UB would have found a way to escape the basement and be discovered by Burnet, or worse. 

Lillie frowns as she passes the phone back to Kukui, Nebby following the phone. “Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck in the previous century and will need to find them in person in order to take care of it.” 

Gladion grunts, pulling up a few social media pages and fan forums on his laptop; he can sense Moon leaning over him to read as he tells the others, “The Wishiwashi are an indie pop group with a one-hit wonder. They haven’t played any full sets live, considering they can’t go that long without water, but they’re headlining some music festival over in Hana Desert this weekend.” 

Moon nods, vaguely remembering the radio announcer’s voice. “Sandscript. That’s been sold out for weeks.” 

“I could probably get us in – I have a few friends on the tech crew for it.” 

The others look at Sun with wide eyes and raised brows, Gladion unable to stop himself before he scoffs, “Since when?” 

Sun gives a shrug. “I have a life outside of you, Gladion.” 

“Even if you get in, you won’t want to draw any attention. I doubt they’ll stick around to perform if they realize the Slayer has caught onto them,” Kukui mumbles, adjusting his glasses. Nebby gives a disappointed twinkle when he slides his phone back into his pocket, but continues to float by his shoulder. 

Hau smirks over at the professor, his tone dangerously close to a chuckle. “I didn’t hear a ‘we’ in there. You don’t wanna sneak into Sandscript with us?” 

“Someone has to babysit this one,” he replies, a corner of his lips quirking up as he looks at Nebby and gives the Cosmog a quick pat on the head, ignoring the chill as the UB smiles at the contact. “Also, I’d rather not risk being recognized by any of my students in attendance.” 

“Especially considering we’ll need to dress the part,” Moon says, biting back a giggle when she feels Gladion’s shoulders tense at the realization that his comfort zone of dark, ripped clothing might not fly at a tropical music festival. 

Lillie, however, brightens the whole room with the spark in her eyes as she sits up straighter with a smile. “Leave that to me.” 

And the last of Gladion’s hope leaves his body in a sigh of acceptance, wishing he had the foresight to sit this one out like Kukui. 

* * *

The Wishiwashi are set to perform at 8pm on Saturday, giving Lillie a little over twenty-four hours to scrounge up disguises for their group. 

Gladion prays (for the first time in his life) that she would run out of time and he’d be left without a change of clothes. 

Alas, Lillie shows up at Moon’s door, her, Hau, and Sun already changed, and with two shopping bags in hand. While Moon accepts hers with a curious smile, going to change first, Gladion grimaces as he takes his. He knows his sister has fairly good taste, and isn’t out to embarrass him per se, but considering the amount of fringe she’s wearing, the light wash of Sun’s overalls, and Hau’s loud, clashing prints, it’s safe to say that there won’t be a single article of clothing involved in this that Gladion would actually want to wear. 

He adjusts the wide-brimmed black hat as he steps out of the bathroom, glancing down at himself as he mutters, “I’m afraid to ask, but how do I look?” 

The four others tilt their heads, taking it in. All in all, Lillie is pleased with her efforts, as she managed to find him something just left of bohemian and in all black. On top of that, the circle sunglasses, large hat, and light suede jacket will ensure that the vampire won’t roast too much, as the sun will still be setting when they first enter the festival. 

It’s actually fairly hard to poke fun at him. 

Moon, however, loves a challenge. 

“Like John Mayer’s emo phase.” 

Gladion doesn’t even bother with a glare, instead sighing as he shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have asked.” 

She rolls her eyes at his dramatics, stepping forward so that the sheer fabric of her dress sways, presenting herself with a smirk. “Want to even it out and take a crack at me?” 

“You look...” His voice, infuriatingly enough, trails off with his gaze. Rationally, he knows this is a ridiculous outfit – she has on a black halter top and shorts, only to put another layer, a sheer dress with silver embroidery of constellations. 

But she holds herself with so much confidence, and the ludicrously blue eyeshadow makes her gray eyes all the sharper, and then his eyes are lingering too long on her legs. 

He looks off to the side, tongue too large for his now very dry mouth. “Fine.” 

She blinks, genuinely surprised and bemused with his reaction; her brother, however, seems to know exactly how to translate the vampire’s sudden tepidness, but before he gets the chance, Lillie turns to him with a smile. “And I have something special for you, Sun.” She holds up a pair of bright orange foam earplugs, the young man taking them from her and examining them closer as she explains, “I’ve managed to work out an enchantment that should block out the worst of the Siren’s call.” 

Sun hums in thought, looking at the earplugs in the palm of his hand a moment longer before his eyes travel to Gladion and Hau. He frowns, huffing, “I still call bullshit that you two get automatic immunity to sirens.” 

“It’s more an awareness that gives us a fighting chance to resist,” Hau says with an apologetic smile. He does his best not to laugh when he remembers Sun’s offended face when Kukui explained that sirens are ineffective against most supernatural targets. While it was good news for the druid and vampire, it only served to make Sun grumble more about the quote unquote “absolute lameness of being the human.” 

He holds an orange earplug against the sleeve of his tie-dye shirt, clearly contemplating something before he concedes with a shrug. “Well, at least they go with the rest of my outfit.” 

“I apologize if I went a bit garish on some of these ensembles.” Lillie worries her bottom lip, glancing around at the others. When she was shopping, she was just happy to get the chance to play dress-up, to exercise that reflex of choice that atrophied under her mother’s watch. Now, looking at everyone together, she can see that perhaps her inspiration got her a little carried away. 

But Hau shakes his head, throwing an arm around her shoulders as he assures with a smile, “Honestly, they’re perfect.” He looks around at the others who nod – even Gladion begrudgingly agrees – and his grin grows wider. “We’ll be blending in with no problem.” 

With a smirk, Moon slides on the blue lens sunglasses Lillie got her as she leads the way out the door. “Now let’s go tear up the dancefloor.” 

* * *

_ It is not that the siren’s song is inherently irresistible, but their voices adapt in the air to the ears of those they wish to ensnare. Slayers who have survived their encounters with the species have often reported hearing their lover’s voice singing to them. _

** _ Doctor _****_Gramtapen’s _****_Grimoire, 7t_****_h _****_Edition _ **

* * *

“Maybe I should let my mother destroy the world after all.” 

Moon turns, raising a brow at Gladion as he stands next to her, surveying the crowd in front of her as Sandscript attendees continue to sway in time to the music of the band on the main stage, shouting lyrics. 

“We’ve only been here ten minutes and you’re ready to burn it down.” 

His upper lip curls in disgust, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses. “There are too many people, it smells like sweat, and the only food available is some unholy combination of dry ramen noodles and a taco.” He looks down at the Slayer, gesturing vaguely to the air around them with a hand as he scoffs, “Why the hell would anyone pay for this?” 

“Great energy, good lineups,” Moon lists off on her fingers, before looking down at her outfit with a laugh, “And a chance to wear whatever this is.” 

He rolls his eyes, mumbling under his breath as the band onstage announces their next song, “Agree to disagree.” 

Gladion has never been one for crowds. He finds that other people tend to get on his already frayed nerves, and now he has the added challenge of holding back a bloodthirst when he’s surrounded by too many pumping hearts. 

But there’s something deeper to it that makes his frown a little more self-directed than he’d care to admit. Though he certainly can’t understand why, it’s clear that everyone else here is simply having fun. There’s an abundance of smiling faces, a lack of self-awareness as groups of people dance together, laughing with their heads thrown back. 

Everyone here is completely carefree. 

And he’s a little scared that he’s forgotten how to be that. 

The last time he can remember doing something just for the sake of having fun is back in his childhood, back before his father went missing. Since then, however, he’s always had a goal, a next step that he constantly needed to work towards. There hasn’t been time to stop and breathe and relax, and he refuses to give himself that time when he’s busy placing burdens on his own shoulders. Once he was turned into a vampire, he only seemed to pick up the tempo, pile his plate higher with things to do, because to allow himself to stop means to allow himself to realize what he’s become. 

To realize he’s lost a part of himself that he can never get back. 

It’s been easy enough to brush off Sun and Moon’s teasing about his demeanor when he has the airtight excuse of preventing an apocalypse, and he’s said it so many times that he’s believed it, too. Now, however, as he’s surrounded by a crowd of pure ecstasy (and he suspects some literal ecstasy with the looks on some of their faces), he can’t avoid the question that haunts the back of his mind. 

When all of this is over, can he still be happy? 

“Hey Mr. Darcy.” 

Moon’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. She slides her sunglasses down her nose, the impish spark in her eyes tipping him off that she’s about to make a quip at his expense. Sure enough, she chuckles, “Looks like you need some help pulling the stick out of your ass.” 

“You have such a way with words.” 

His deadpan does little to deter her, and the Slayer rolls her eyes. “And _y__ou _need to stop taking yourself to seriously.” 

It’s a little unnerving how she’s able to hit things right on the nail with him; he chalks it up to them spending too much time together (though considering he’s the one who refuses to move out, he’s at least partially responsible for that). 

As the music hits the chorus once more, the crowd shouting along, Moon nods her head along to it, mouthing the words as she sways her body in time to the beat. She looks up at him with a smirk, but his face remains stone, eyes going back to scanning the crowd for a sign of Sun. After a few more moments of his silent refusal, and with the bridge of the song imminent, Moon rolls her eyes and grabs Gladion’s hands, ignoring his incoherent protests as she swings their arms. She does her best to dance with him, which is no easy feat considering his feet are firmly rooted to the sun-bleached dirt. 

With a few more shimmies and head-bangs, she can feel him loosen under her touch, and he’s having a harder time biting back a chuckle at her expense. He even moves his arms a bit, his shoulders rolling with the final chorus. Moon grins widely, laughing at themselves when the music cuts out with a final drum beat. 

The crowd cheers, and the Slayer mumbles something like “you’re a terrible dancer,” but for some reason Gladion can’t hear it as he focuses in on the wink and small smile she gives him before letting go of his hands. She turns to watch the stage as the previous band shuffles off, the tech crew coming on and switching out various props and instruments. Gladion turns to resume his watch as well, but he self-consciously grips his left hand with his right, pressing circles into the palm with his thumb – his skin is freezing, he knows it’s freezing ever since he was turned and his blood circulation became nonexistent. 

So why didn’t she complain that his touch is freezing? 

He clears his throat, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket when he realizes who the next band setting up is. The two of them stiffen as the crowd pushes forward, even more fans joining the mass of people, excited murmurs covering Gladion’s question. “Think Sun was able to get them backstage?” 

“No doubt in my mind.” Still, she can’t help but cross her arms, fingers nervously tapping along her bicep as she bites her cheek. She really has the utmost confidence in Sun – if anyone is a people person that could talk their way backstage at a show, it’s him – but she’s also realizing that every part of their plan needs to go off without a hitch to avoid injuring anyone in the crowd or having any witnesses. There’s a lot of people crowding the stage, which means a lot of chances for something to go wrong. 

When the actual members of the Wishiwashi walk out, the crowd roars at deafening decibels. A short, pale girl with blue hair waves, sticking her tongue out at a few fans in the front before taking her place behind the drum set. She’s followed quickly by a slightly older girl with green hair, who snaps the straps of her overalls with a laugh before slinging the strap of a pink and white guitar over her shoulder. Finally, an older woman layered in jewelry picks up the bass, adjusting the microphone in front of her before she shouts with a smile, “Aloha, Sandscript! How we feeling tonight?” 

The crowd screams impossibly louder, full of applause and whistles. Moon and Gladion clap to keep from arousing suspicion, but it’s harder to hide their frowns when they’re also busy analyzing the sirens. There’s a glow about them, but any visible scales or marks from their gills are hidden by clothes and accessories, leaving them to look perfectly human to most people while out of the water. 

“We’re the Wishiwashi,” the green-haired guitarist (and Gladion vaguely remembers that she must be Mallow) gives a wink as she laughs into her own microphone, “And we’re here to put the ‘grrr’ in ‘girl power!’” 

A moment later the drummer, either Laney or Lana, counts them off with her drumsticks and they launch into their first song, something simple but upbeat, with most of the lyrics consisting of la’s. Moon glances around, especially at the more masculine audience members, who are definitely more entranced than they should be, but not fully drawn in; it seems the sirens are just warming up, starting small and drawing an even bigger crowd as more men wandering the festival join the audience. 

When she glances up at Gladion, he’s watching the band intently, green eyes clearly making notes on battle strategy. She should probably be doing the same, but a different question has popped into her mind as she remembers something Hau said earlier. “I know it doesn’t have any effect on you, but their song still changes when you hear it, right?” 

The vampire blinks, glancing down at her with an indiscernible expression before shrugging. “Sure.” 

“What does it sound like?” 

If his heart still worked it would have seized up in cardiac arrest. Instead, he keeps his eyes to the crowd, racking his brain for a response that doesn’t give away the fact that their voices maybe sound a little too close to what he imagines her singing voice might be. 

“I’ll tell you later,” he mutters, and he can feel her about to question him when he spots a neon green bucket hat making its way through the crowd, for the first time being genuinely happy to see Sun coming towards him. The second Sun steps in front of the two of them, Gladion asks, “Are Hau and Lillie set up?” 

Sun frowns, and while the sun is nearly set, the lights from the stage illuminate the orange plugs sitting in his ears. “What?” 

Moon sighs, repeating loudly, “Are Hau and–” 

“_What?” _

Matching glares are thrown his way, Sun quick to drop the joke as he mutters, “Kidding, kidding. Yeesh, you guys are scary together. Yeah, Hau’s set up for the distraction and Lillie’s figuring out where their mid-show water supply is coming from.” 

Moon nods. “Did he mention what kind of–” 

And then there’s an explosion. 

A stage light falls in the middle of the song, followed by a fire that spreads too quickly to have been entirely natural. The music cuts out abruptly and the crowd reacts immediately in panicked screams and curious shouts. As the fire spreads, however, the front row is quickly turning and running, stage hands coming out to evacuate the crowd and try to locate one of the fire extinguishers that have conveniently gone missing. 

“–distraction.” 

_ Well, at least it’s big, _she thinks with a sigh, her and Gladion quick to fight against the flow of the crowd and work their way towards the stage as Sun begins helping to direct the crowd along with his friends on the tech crew. 

When they finally manage to get closer to the stage, they can see Hau and Lillie stepping out from the wings. When the druid spots them approaching, he lowers the flames, revealing the three sirens to them as the band clumps together, watching Hau and Lillie with sharp eyes, clearly waiting to attack. 

As Hau extinguishes his fire completely, Lillie is quick to put up an illusory wall of flames, effectively blocking them from view and instilling fear in any mortals that glance over, keeping them away from the battle. 

Gladion reaches the stage first, easily hopping up before turning and holding a hand out to Moon. She takes it, climbing up onstage with him and drawing the attention of the sirens as she takes a microphone out of a nearby mic stand. Giving it a twirl, she grips it in both hands as she smirks over at the band, cocking a brow as she asks, “How do you gals feel about sharing the spotlight?” 

“With you? Sure.” The oldest band member – Moon remembers Gladion telling her she’s going by Olivia – steps forward. Her eyes flash, becoming dark voids of black, and her hands become webbed, the tips of her fingers shifting into claws. Lana and Mallow undergo a similar transformation behind her, crouching and ready to attack as Olivia snarls, her voice sounding now as though she’s underwater, “It’s the vamp and druid who are getting under our scales.” 

Before they can react, Lana lunges, tackling Gladion so the two go flying offstage, and Mallow is quick to tackle Hau, the two rolling into the wings as the druid yelps. Olivia keeps her eyes locked on Moon, but the Slayer is quick to counter her lunge, holding the mic stand horizontally to block her claws. With her weakened state out of water, it’s quick work to overpower Olivia and pin her to the ground, the metal bar of the mic stand digging into her solar plexus. 

Lillie shouts something that gets lost in the chaos, and she realizes she needs to keep her concentration on the fake fire wall, especially as the last attendants of Sandscript continue to rush towards the entrance to the festival. She frowns, focusing and waiting until Sun can get the last human out of the area and she can help their friends. 

Moon struggles to keep her grip as the siren writhes beneath her, gritting through her teeth, “Forgive me if I didn’t get the brochure about fourth wave feminism being all about drowning men.” 

“Not just men.” Olivia blows a strand of hair out of her face with a frown, stilling her movements as she shifts her legs. “Women who defend them, too.” 

And she grabs the mic stand, leveraging it to throw the Slayer off. Moon lands on the edge of the stage, sprawled on her back. She sits up, but Olivia is already up and almost towering over her, the mic stand in hand, lifting it into the air and– 

A blur of blue crashes into the siren, the mic stand dropping from her hands as Olivia’s back hits the stage, Lana now on top of her, groaning. Moon turns to see Gladion getting himself back onstage with a grunt, looking more than a little annoyed, but not too worse for wear, though his hat and sunglasses have been knocked off somewhere. 

Lillie glances over at the entrance again, and just manages to make out Sun waving his arms wildly, signaling that they’ve successfully evacuated the festival. With a smile, Lillie drops her illusion spell, instead turning her attention across the stage to where Hau continues to dodge slashes from Mallow. 

His eyes catch on the witch’s, and with a smile he shouts simply, “Wind!” She brings up her hands, bolstering his wind spell with one of her own, the two of them successfully shoving Mallow off of him and back towards the other two sirens. 

As the druid, witch, vampire, and Slayer walk closer to the band, the trio of sirens are beginning to look worn down. A set of gills has revealed itself on one side of Mallow’s neck, clearly struggling for water as the young woman huffs between labored breaths, “I don’t see why you have to get so defensive – we're only trying to drown them.” 

Olivia looks between Lillie and Moon, reaching into the back pocket of her shorts with a shaky hand. “You girls are a little young to understand, but a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” 

She pulls out a small remote, quick to tap the central button, and the sirens look up. As Sun had found out, after days of negotiating, they’d finally managed to bribe the tech crew into allowing them to rig up a net of water balloons above the stage to drop mid-way through their set. 

Lillie, however, follows their gaze with a smile as the others hold their breath, Sun joining them on stage. “Excellent points. Unfortunately, there won’t be any rain on this parade.” 

And as the net falls away, the balloons gently float down, the water inside having been magically replaced with air, leaving the sirens to gawk as they struggle to remain standing. 

Sun climbs up onto the stage, giving Lillie a grin as he purrs, “Nice one.” 

However, while they celebrate their victory, the sirens before them collapse to their knees, clearly struggling after spending so much time out of water. It’s almost pitiful, and it tugs at Moon’s heartstrings even before Lana looks up at her with wide eyes and a pouting bottom lip. “We just wanted to be left alone, is that so much to ask?” 

The Slayer’s brows furrow as she asks slowly, gears turning in her mind, “What do you mean?” 

“A bunch of guys have been harassing us at our usual beach, to the point that we can’t go a day without some weird comment about our bodies,” Mallow mutters, a hand uselessly clamping over the gills on her neck, trying to assuage the pain. 

At her words, the others blink, taking in the sirens before them. Surrounding them now, it’s clear this wouldn’t be a fair fight to continue, and this latest reveal is tilting the entire situation into a new perspective. 

Gladion is the first to break the uneasy silence. “I wouldn’t be opposed to letting a few scumbags drown.” 

Olivia, Lana, and Mallow look to him with wide eyes, still crowded together and suspicious, but visibly relaxing as the others nod. Moon thinks for a moment more before a mysterious smile overtakes her lips. 

“I think I have an even better idea.” 

* * *

A lone seagull calls as it flies over the bay, the moon reflecting on the water’s surface. 

Then the water breaks, three heads poking out and looking towards shore where Moon stands with her friends. She squints into the darkness as she calls out, “How’s this?” 

“Perfect!” Lana chirps, giving a wide smile that’s all sharpened fangs. She swims closer along with Mallow and Olivia, their tails long and sinuous under the surface of the ocean. 

Olivia places her elbows on a rock jutting out of the water. “You’re not so bad, Slayer.” 

“Neither are you.” Moon smiles, a chuckle escaping her as she nods. “Consider me your latest stan.” 

Lillie stands off to the side with wide eyes, nearly breathless as she takes in Kala’e Bay. “How on earth did you find this place?” she asks, looking as though she’s trying to commit every wave and cloud to memory. 

“Our mom used to take us here all the time,” Sun explains, his own gaze far-off as well, but with undertones of nostalgia that makes his lips curl into a smile. He looks over at his older sister, something sparking in his eyes. “I’d almost forgotten about it.” 

She bristles under his gaze, unable to help her own impish smile from taking over her face. “What?” 

“Just never took you for the nostalgic type.” 

He shrugs and she rolls her eyes, mumbling something under her breath but smiling all the same. It’s nice to be back here, to hold onto a place where she would spend lazy summers with her family and feel like a normal teenager for a few hours. 

Maybe she’s a little more sentimental than she’d like to admit. 

Mallow tilts her head, black eyes traveling over the group on land as she flicks her spiny green tail out of the water. “Y’know, we wanna keep this place secret, but you all are more than welcome to come visit!” 

Hau gives the siren a wide grin, just picturing how nice the secluded little spot could be in the sun as he says, “We’ll take you up on that.” 

With a round of goodbyes, the group takes their leave of the sirens, beginning their walk through Seaward Cave with the sound of splashing water and giggles behind them. Moon and Gladion take the front, lighting up the path with their phone’s flashlights as they walk in a comfortable silence filled with the occasional sound of dripping water. 

After a few moments, Sun’s hum joins the ambient noise, the tune all too familiar now; even without their supernatural touch, there’s no denying that the Wishiwashi were onto something catchy. Before anyone – namely, Gladion – can snap at him to stop, Sun pauses his half-hearted singing, eyes lighting up as he announces, “You know what we need? A theme song.” 

Gladion rolls his eyes. “We can’t even agree on a team name.” 

Moon snickers at his side, the two sharing a look as her brother mumbles, “Still partial to the Sun Fan Club.” 

“I thought we were going with Doomsdayers?” Hau replies with furrowed brows. 

And the rest of the walk up is spent spit balling increasingly worse team names, with even Gladion throwing his own in (and being swiftly denied). Moon laughs, climbing further up the cave with a warmth spreading from her chest throughout her entire body, chalking up one more memory to hold about this place. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon: *treats Gladion like a person*  
Gladion: stop it or I swear to god I'm gonna fall in love with you
> 
> we'll come back to kala'e bay at a later chapter, but until then, I wonder what the Skulls are up to...


	13. feeling lucky, punk?

[[♪ Get Lucky ft. Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers - Daft Punk ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NV6Rdv1a3I)

A recently sired member of Team Skull is the first to realize. 

She passes by the one calendar in all of Po Town, stuck on a wall in the upstairs hallway of the Shady House. With a quick double-take, she realizes it’s behind a month, and carefully takes out the tack keeping it hanging, flipping it to the correct page. After a quick tally of days, her eyes widen as she figures out exactly what tomorrow is. 

Without wasting another second, she tears the calendar off the wall and runs down the hall, shoving past other vampires and nearly tripping over someone who’s fallen asleep in the corner. She knocks at Guzma’s door, shouting, “Boss! Hey Boss!” 

It’s just an hour past sunset, which means that the leader of the Skulls is still deep in sleep. The knocking rouses him from his bed with a grunt, Plumeria’s form shifting beside him as she burrows deeper under the covers. He stomps across the room, slamming the door open and nearly knocking the vampire over with the force. “_What.” _

The grunt squeaks, holding the calendar up and hiding her face behind it to escape the worst of his early evening wrath. “I-it’s the twelfth,” she stammers, a few others poking their heads out of doors at the disturbance, “Which means t-tomorrow is–” 

Guzma snatches the calendar out of her hands, Plumeria finally rousing and joining him in the doorway, looking over his shoulder with a raised brow. “What’s going on?” she mumbles, voice coated in drowsiness as she suppresses a yawn. 

After a few seconds of alternating his glare between the calendar and the grunt (who at this point is slowly inching her way down the hall and regretting this entire ordeal), Guzma’s eyes widen in understanding. He passes off the calendar to Plumeria, who blinks, opening her mouth to snap at him when he beats her to the punch. 

“It’s our favorite day of the year.” He brushes past the cowering grunt, the others leaning into the hallway watching as he walks past, smile manic as he shouts for all of Po Town to hear, “Get off your asses! Up and at ‘em, we’re having a meeting and planning!” 

Plumeria watches him for a moment longer before her eyes fall back to the calendar in her hands, looking at the single date circled multiple times in red ink. She grins, canines flashing as she chuckles. 

“Bad luck for Alola.” 

* * *

Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in Moon’s book. 

It started with her waking up late for work, only to be followed up with spilling coffee on one of her favorite shirts, then she hit every red light on her way to the pharmacy, and now she’s sitting in the back room after a customer spent the past twenty minutes chewing her out over not having a prescription refill that they didn’t request. 

She’s very tempted to punch a wall. 

The problem is the wall would collapse and that’d be hard to explain to her supervisor. 

“Hey, Mr. Johnson just left.” She looks over to the door, where Kai has poked her head in, a sympathetic smile on her face as she says, “Safe to come out now.” 

Moon sighs, sitting forward to lean her head into her hands, her elbows resting on the table in front of her. “Nowhere is safe today.” 

Kai frowns, sliding her hands into the pockets of her lab coat as she steps further into the back room. “Bad day?” 

“The worst.” She looks up at her coworker, feeling at least a little of the stress that’s been building between her shoulder blades release as she vents, “Honestly, I should’ve called it a day after waking up. I swear, the universe is out to get me.” 

As she stands, Kai hums in thought, the two walking back out to the counter. “Well, it_ is _Friday the 13th.” She turns, waggling her brows with a giggle as Moon rolls her eyes. “Any black cats cross your path?” 

Before Moon can respond, there’s the sound of crashing boxes in an aisle, and her eyes flicker just in time to catch the retreating forms of three people in black sweats and hoodies, snickering as their sneakers squeak against the floor and the bell above the door chimes. 

She goes over to survey the damage, Kai following close behind and mumbling something about neighborhood kids, and Moon frowns. Nothing appears to be stolen, but at least half a shelf of cold medicine has been shoved to the ground, and so cleaning up an aisle gets added to her laundry list of reasons to hate today. 

But what’s more troubling is that she recognized those outfits, could just make out the white insignia on the back. 

_ No black cats, _she thinks to herself as she kneels, beginning her clean up with a frown, _But something much worse. _

**From: Moon [14:13]**   
_spotted skull__s__at__ work_

**From: Moon [14:13]**   
_so__ if anyone else is having the worst day of their lives, I have a theory_

**From: Sun [14:15]**   
_dude it’s __firday__ the 13__th__ that’s explanation enough_

**From: Sun [14:16]**   
_*__friday_

_ Hau __changed the name of the group to ‘__Firday'_

**From: Sun [14:19]**   
_man fuck you_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:21]**   
_When did you spot the Skull members? Did they enter the pharmacy?_

**From: Moon [14:25]**   
_for a second__ like an hour ago_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:26]**   
_And you’re only telling us now?_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:28]**   
_They’re probably trying to target you. Stay there, I’m coming._

**From: Moon [14:29]**   
_no__ you’re not_

**From: Moon [14:30]**   
_the sun’s still out_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:33]**   
_I’ll be fine, but you won’t if the Skulls attack while you’re alone._

_ Hau__ changed the name of the group to ‘Moon Protection Squad’ _

**From: Lillie [14:35]**   
_I’ve also noticed some strange activity...I wonder if there’s some_   
_larger magic or source at hand adjusting luck?_

**From: ****Hau**** [14:36]**   
_Sounds like something they’d pull!!_

**From: Sun [14:36]**   
_oooh__ I call looking for it_

**From: Moon [14:39]**   
_it can’t hurt to look into it, but be careful_

**From: Moon [14:39]**   
_take __gladion__ with you_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:42]**   
_I’m already halfway to the pharmacy._

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘bring your vampire to work day’ _

**From: Moon [14:44]**   
_turn around_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:45]**   
_No._

**From: Moon [14:45]**   
_if you actually show __up__ I’ll kick your ass_

**From: ****Gladion**** [14:46]**   
_You can’t when you’re on the clock._

**From: Moon [14:47]**   
_fine but I stg you better be subtle about this_

* * *

_ Black cats have a reputation of bringing bad luck, however this is a common misconception. No misfortune will befall you if a black cat crosses your path, so long as the creature does not deem you disrespectful or stupid. _

_ Unfortunately, they often deem us stupid. _

** _ My First Familiar by _****_Aya Gabba_****_, Chapter 11 _ **

* * *

Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in Moon’s book and it keeps getting _worse. _

She smiles as she bids goodbye to the customer she’s helping, wishing the poor young man luck with his insomnia, but the second he’s out the door the smile drops. Instead, it turns into a glare as she moves her gaze to a figure in a nearby aisle, with his head down and a pill bottle of ibuprofen in his hand. 

Gladion has been here for about twenty minutes and she’s about to have an aneurysm over it. 

Not that he’s done anything wrong, per se, but she’s supposed to be at work. She’s given up having any facet of her life be truly “normal,” but Paliuli Pharmacy is the closest she gets to it. It’s jarring to see even that won’t hold up, and it’s even weirder that Gladion of all people is the catalyst for it – not bad, exactly, but something about seeing him even more frequently than she already does is giving her heart palpitations. 

Maybe she should see a doctor. 

With no one in line and Kai on her break, Moon spots her opportunity and takes it with a huff, walking around the counter. Even though he keeps his eyes focused on the pill bottle in his hands, she can tell Gladion senses her presence, especially when she hisses, “You’re not subtle at all.” 

“Not when you’re talking to me,” he counters, putting the bottle back on the shelf far too slowly and deliberately to really be casual. Moon figures they didn’t cover covert operations in the evil vampire coven training (although apparently, he had time to pick up computer science). 

She leans against the shelf, rolling her eyes as he continues to pretend they aren’t having this conversation, instead going to examine a box of Advil. “Are you seriously going to lurk around a pharmacy for the next two hours?” It’s the soonest she’ll be off her shift, and it’s exactly two hours too long to spend in a pharmacy without rousing suspicion. 

“If it means keeping you safe, then yes.” 

Even he seems surprised at how quickly and easily the words flow from his mouth, and he takes a deep breath, finally looking at her and a little surprised at the vitriol in her eyes. With a frown, he mutters, “Do you really want me to leave?” 

“Would you?” she asks with a roll of her eyes, entirely disbelieving. 

He raises a brow, a humorless chuckle escaping him as he turns to face her fully, crossing his arms. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually enjoy it when you’re mad at me.” 

“I’m not mad at you.” She pauses, avoiding his eyes for a moment as she gathers her own thoughts. “I mean, I’m irritated, sure, since you don’t seem to think I can take care of myself.” 

For just a moment, his face softens, and she’s trying to decipher what exactly is in his eyes when he mumbles, “I know you can, but I want to help.” 

It’s been less than a week since the cult incident, and their walk to Lillie’s is still fresh in her mind – she can still feel his arm around her waist. He chastised her then for trying to bite off more than she could chew, and she’d sort of implicitly promised she’d get better about it, but that’s proving more difficult in practice. Even now, part of her wants to open her mouth to argue, to tell him that he can turn around and go home. 

Another part of her is realizing that he came all this way, in the sun, just to see that she’s all right. 

And that part is getting louder the longer she looks up at him. 

She clears her throat, shifting her weight as she quiets the voice in her head. Maybe she can admit that Gladion isn’t so bad, but he doesn’t need to know that, and she huffs, shoving annoyance back into her voice. “Well you’re very distracting.” 

He quirks up a brow, taking half a step closer to her. “How so?” 

“I just...” _ Keep wanting to stare at you, _is what she nearly says, but she doesn’t need to fuel that fire any more than it already has been from her wandering thoughts. Instead she shrugs. “You just give off a vibe.” 

“A vibe?” 

He snorts, and damn it all if it doesn’t do something to her to hear something so endearing coming out of him. Moon can feel some internal dam breaking as she struggles to keep up her façade, face all too smooth as she explains, “Yeah. A distracting vibe. You’re very vibey.” 

But he shifts a little closer, and she feels her stomach drop at the spark of realization in his eyes. Far too pleased at being able to turn the tables on her for once, he chuckles. “You can just admit that I’m attractive.” 

“Legally, I can’t.” 

The heart palpitations come back; she really should see a doctor about that. 

She can feel his breath just ghosting her cheeks as he leans forward, trying for intimidation but voice dipping into something else entirely. “That’s not a no.” 

“It’s not a yes, either.” Her breath catches in her throat before she clears it, forcing her eyes away from his for a moment. She raises a brow, puffing out her chest as she latches onto her own upper hand. “And you’re one to talk.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m just wondering if you get this close to everyone you talk to,” she mumbles, just below a whisper and lifting her chin. 

There’s a moment of a heavy silence, of something unspoken that’s threatening to break the surface tension. 

And there’s no use for a doctor now when her heart all but stops when he leans in. 

“There you are, I–” 

They jump apart, backs ramrod straight and heads whipping towards the source of the voice. Kai blinks, startled as she takes them in before a knowing smile crawls across her lips. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“Nope.” Moon’s voice is sharp, her arm awkwardly stiff as she gestures to the vampire. “Kai, this is my....roommate, Gladion.” 

“Nice to meet you.” He nods his head, deciding against offering his hand to avoid the inevitable “cold hands / low blood circulation” exchange. 

Kai tilts her head, looking between the two with a mysterious smile that grows. “Moon’s mentioned you before,” she purrs, her gaze locking with her co-worker's and very nearly giving her a wink. 

Gladion blinks; the idea of the Slayer talking about him, outside of them living or working together, hasn’t crossed his mind before. He looks down at her with slightly wider eyes and a raised brow as she throws her coworker a warning look. “Has she?” He’s unable to keep the slight smile out of his voice, all too amused now at the thought that he’s taking up more of her day than he realized. 

“Quit stroking your ego – it's usually me complaining.” Which is true enough, but she can still feel a blush threatening to take over her cheeks at getting caught, all too quick to make her escape as she brushes past him and places a hand on Kai’s back, gently pushing her forward in her walk. “I should get back to the front, though.” 

The other pharmacist turns with a smile, waving. “Nice meeting you, Gladion.” 

He hums before turning his attention back to the shelf, and Kai turns hers back to Moon. She can feel the teasing gaze on the side of her face, and when they’re nearly back at the counter she mumbles, “What?” 

Kai chuckles. “Your ‘roommate?’ Really?” 

“He is,” Moon replies, somewhat bemused as they make their way around the counter. 

But the other young woman narrows her eyes in suspicion, not content to drop the subject at that. “There’s_ nothing _else there?” she interrogates, equal parts annoyed and intrigued, looking like she might not be below locking Moon in the back room for more information. 

For her part, the Slayer really isn’t sure what information there is to give. “What makes you say that?” 

Kai smirks, canines practically flashing as she leans, eyes flickering over to where the top of Gladion’s head pokes over the aisle. 

“The fact that he looked like he was about to devour you when I interrupted.” 

A moment later, Gladion looks up from his fake browsing, hearing a distinctly embarrassed shriek of “_absolutely _not” that must have come from Moon. 

And he looks back down chuckling, the smile remaining on his lips for much longer than it should. 

* * *

It doesn’t take long for Sun, Lillie, and Hau to find a Skull grunt to track. 

They meet up just outside Kukui’s house, and not thirty yards away on the beach, with their hood tightly drawn up over their head, a short vampire struggles to carry at least five beach umbrellas in their arms, heading towards the forest. 

After an hour or so of following the grunt at a safe distance, observing them commit acts that are, even at their worst, petty, it starts to feel like a waste of time. After having to witness their third prank, drawing a misshapen penis on a sidewalk with chalk, Lillie very nearly retracts her theory and calls the whole thing off. 

However, an hour into their investigation (though they use that word rather liberally), the vampire heads for the marina, leading them onto the ferry headed for Akala Island. It quickly becomes clear that they’re headed for Po Town, which seems like a logical spot for any potential rituals. 

While the vampire goes through the front entrance, knocking on a certain section of the wall and shouting out a brand of hot cocoa that must be the codeword, the trio makes their way around the side. It’s a small wonder they aren’t heard by anyone considering how Lillie’s bag jostles at her side and the horseshoe around Sun’s neck keeps clinking against his nazar amulet. 

He holds out an arm, stopping the other two before they go through the hole in the wall as he digs around in his pocket and pulls out something small and furry. 

“Everybody rub the rabbit’s foot before we go in.” 

“You really came fully decked out, cousin.” Hau raises a brow, taking in Sun’s ensemble, because there really is no other word for it. Along with his horseshoe-nazar-necklace-duo, he wears his old lacrosse jersey with his lucky number 31 emblazoned on the back, a shamrock tie that he picked up as a joke for St. Patrick’s Day, a mismatched pair of socks since he has two lucky pairs, and an assortment of charms and trinkets in bracelets. 

Hau knows that Sun is just as superstitious as his mother, only more so after learning more about the supernatural underbelly of the world, but this is a lot even for him. 

“I’m not taking any chances.” Sun’s face grows deadly serious under his baseball hat that proudly declares “Lucky Birthday Boy.” 

Lillie shares a look with Hau, before she decides to drop this matter with a sigh, because they don’t have time to unpack his obsession right now. She grips the strap of her cross-body duffel tighter, turning her gaze to the opening in the wall and growing tense as she watches for any signs of movement in Po Town. They retreat further into the surrounding foliage, and she tells the young men, “Now, if they really are doing some sort of spell or ritual to spread bad luck across all of Alola, they’ll need a large group and constant activity to keep it going.” 

Sun nods, still rubbing the rabbit’s foot with his thumb absent-mindedly. “So look for any gatherings of Skulls?” 

“Precisely, along with anything out of the ordinary.” 

Hau raises a brow. “What exactly is ‘normal’ for a vampire coven?” 

“Point taken,” Lillie sighs with a half-smile that shifts into a frown when her duffel bag shifts against her hip. An otherworldly twinkling sound rings through the air as she opens the zipper further and looks down at the Cosmog inside. Her voice is gentle but urgent as she explains quietly to the restless creature, “Now Nebby, it’s imperative you stay hidden in the bag. I promise it won’t be long.” 

It’s not ideal to be carrying a cosmic entity in an old duffel bag, but considering Kukui is still at his day job and it’s too high of a risk to leave Nebby to his own devices, Lillie didn’t have much other choice. While the UB made his displeasure at being contained known with the occasional chime while they tailed the Skull member, Nebby has otherwise remained in the bag. 

Now, though, even with Lillie’s warning, the Cosmog seems ready to burst out, continuously fidgeting with the zipper. 

She decides they can’t waste another second, and so the three head in, one after the other, Hau leading the way and keeping all his senses hyper-focused on their surroundings. They stick to the perimeter initially, peeking into abandoned houses and sneaking through lots of overgrown grass, but they don’t catch any signs of movement. The less they find, the bolder they become, and by the time they check every house, Hau has no qualms parting the hedges to the side of Shady House, the trio stepping around the empty pool and still not finding a single sign of a vampire coven up to no good. 

Hau practically presses his face into a window, astonished and partly annoyed when even Shady House feels empty, asking the others under his breath, “Anybody else not seeing anything?” 

“Maybe it’s somewhere else?” Sun asks, turning from his window to look at Lillie. 

Lillie shakes her head, thinking back to the grunt they initially followed and realizing those small acts of inconvenience were right in line with everything else that seems to be happening today. “Possibly, but I have a feeling that instead, they’re individually responsible for much of what’s happening.” 

She sighs, but before she can officially end their investigation and turn to sneak back out, she feels a tug on her duffel bag and it’s suddenly much lighter, a cosmic twinkling sound filling the air around them. The witch gapes as her eyes catch the first signs of movement in Po Town, the UB in her bag taking to the air and immediately sniffing around the hedges. “Nebby!” 

The threat in her voice is enough to make the Cosmog turn and cower, reluctantly floating back into the duffel bag as she chastises the creature. Hau and Sun can’t help a chuckle, but then the human is quick to look around, nerves back on edge as he’s reminded of where they are and mumbles, “Let’s head out before the space baby gives us away.” 

As the four head back the way they came, they fail to notice the figure in a window on the top floor of Shady House, amber eyes following the swing of the duffel bag against Lillie’s hip. 

* * *

Gladion does end up lurking around the pharmacy for two hours, and it _does _end up rousing suspicion. The problem is that it rouses Kai’s suspicion specifically, and the woman delights in calling it out and watching Moon squirm to come up with an answer that A) doesn’t give away the occult nature of the situation and B) stays firmly platonic. 

She ends up rambling about being his ride home. 

Kai doesn’t buy it, but simply hums, going back to work and throwing even more glances at Moon throughout their shift. 

Besides the embarrassment, it’s actually not awful having Gladion there. It puts her mind a little more at ease, letting her focus on the customers that come in rather than constantly staying vigilante for another sign of the Skulls. There are also the moments when she looks up to see him lost in his own thoughts, standing in an aisle or reading a poster, and Moon can observe him without his usual scowl. 

He has a nice face when he isn’t glaring – strong jaw, pretty eyes, and despite the choppiness of his haircut, his blond hair looks soft. 

Someone else might find him attractive. 

Not her, though. That would be weird. What a strange thought. Ridiculous, even, honestly ludicrous that she would enjoy the shade of pink that his lips are and remember how– 

“I can close up by myself today.” 

Moon blinks, looking over at Kai as the pharmacist nods, eyes flickering to Gladion as he starts walking towards the counter. “Are you sure?” she asks, shrugging off her lab coat and heading to the back room behind Kai as she argues, “I’m not in a rush.” 

Kai waves it off, hanging up her coat and grabbing her bag from her locker. “I’d hate to keep your_ roommate _waiting.” 

The Slayer rolls her eyes, about to fight the suggestive tone that Kai’s voice has dipped into, but when she opens her mouth another voice cuts her off, muffled through the wall as Gladion shouts, “You better be giving me a ride home!” 

“My Prince Charming calls for me.” Kai laughs at her deadpan, Moon grabbing her own bag before bidding the young woman a quick goodbye. When she steps back out, Gladion is impatiently tapping his fingers against the counter, and she rolls her eyes before jerking her chin, signaling for him to lift the divider and walk with her to the back door. 

With the last of the sunset, he’s pulled the hood of his jacket up and keeps his head down until they get into the car. As Moon starts up the engine, she realizes that he’s put on a thick wooly glove on his right hand and uses it to shield his face in shadow. 

“Nice set up, MacGyver.” 

“Unless you want to get tinted windows, this is the best I can do.” 

She pulls out of the parking lot, and a silence falls over them. A silence that she can easily remedy by turning on the radio, which would also work nicely to end this terrible day with no more sass from the vampire. 

Instead, she says loudly while making a turn at the intersection, “You’re by far the worst customer we’ve ever had.” 

“Not technically a customer if I don’t buy anything.” Even without looking over, she can feel the smirk on his lips, and his chuckle follows soon after. It’s cut short, though, falling a few notes flat and sliding them into a more awkward silence than initially. Moon’s about to chance a glance at him when Gladion clears his throat. “You’re uh, not a bad pharmacist, though. From what I can tell.” 

She raises a brow, the car coming to a slow stop at a red light. “Were you spying on me, Poirot?” 

He taps his ear with his other hand (which also sports a black fluffy glove). “Can’t help that I overhear things.” 

“And what did you overhear?” 

The silence is stifling enough to make her consider rolling down her window for some sort of reprieve. Honestly, when she’d asked the question, she was expecting one of his usual snarky responses, another quip to continue their strange dance of wits. 

But the tempo’s shifted. 

“How much you care.” It’s soft and simple, and they both force their gazes to remain ahead, watching the road, the quiet rumble of the engine helping Gladion slide into his next line. “Shocking, considering you still won’t leave me alone about rent.” 

And they’re back. 

She opens her mouth to snap at him, to bring up the fact that at this point he could just move, when a beep from her bag cuts her off. Realizing it’s probably the trio who went to Po Town, she mumbles quickly, “Can you get that?” 

It takes a few seconds of shuffling, but then he finds her phone at the bottom of her bag. “Passcode?” 

“What, can’t hack it?” He audibly groans at that one, and she smiles to herself as she pulls up to the apartment complex, slowing down and heading for her designated parking space. “5662.” 

He quickly reads through the text, a scoff escaping him as he lowers his hand, the sun now safely set. “Sun says they didn’t find anything, and they’re heading back. Of course, they didn’t find anything – there's no such thing as luck.” 

“Says the vampire with a witch for a sister,” Moon mumbles, turning her car off after making sure her parking job is straight enough. 

They get out of the car, and Gladion follows her with a frown, his steps up the staircase punctuating his diatribe nicely. “There are outcomes we control, and outcomes we don’t. The universe is made on probability and random encounters, and luck has nothing to do with it.” 

“Aren’t you even a little superstitious? Never spilled salt and then had an off day?” She’s genuinely curious, stopping outside of her door and staring the young man down, trying to catch his bluff; the idea that anyone could live in their world and come out untouched by the irrational seems downright impossible. 

He’s firm on his stance, though, crossing his arms with a sigh. “Correlation not causation, and confirmation bias.” 

“Boring,” she huffs, taking out her keys and looking up at him with an impish spark in her eyes. “Prove it.” 

“That’s ridiculous.” 

But she can see how his grip on his arms tightens for just a second, and she turns the key in the lock slower, nearly purring when she teases, “Scared to jinx yourself?” 

Gladion scoffs, reaching around her to open the door himself since she won’t hurry up with it, and she turns to give him a look. “What are you expecting here? It’s not like I’m going to trip myself and prove you right.” 

Except that’s more or less what happens. 

The smooth doorknob doesn’t let him get a good grip with the fluffy glove still on his hand, and he jerks forward into the apartment, not having enough space to keep himself from falling on top of the body in front of him. 

She lands on her side, head falling back against the wood floor with a soft thud. When she blinks, preparing to open her mouth and let out a victorious “I told you so” at his expense, she stops herself. 

His face has never been this close to her, close enough that a few longer strands of his hair fall onto her cheek (and confirm her suspicions that it’s soft). 

Her eyes trace the bob of his throat as he swallows hard. 

“Bad luck,” she says, but it’s breathy from getting knocked to the ground, and maybe for other reasons that she has been desperately avoiding. 

He opens his mouth to say something, closes it, and if their earlier silence in the car was stifling, this is smothering and warm and something else entirely. 

When he finds his voice, it wavers, more than she’s ever heard it before. “Confirmation bias.” 

“Agree to disagree.” 

Neither of them move for a second too long. 

Then her leg shifts and he scrambles off of her, mumbling something about doing laundry for the first time, and leaving her to stand up slowly, shutting the front door and quickly walking into her room, her eyes glued to the ground. 

And Moon thinks she should make that doctor’s appointment after all when her heart is beating so fast and so loud that she can feel it ache against her chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goomy went out to karaoke so this chapter is coming to you late and a little wine-drunk, I'll double check this in the morning
> 
> edit: some light edits because italics always format strangely, but this held up, good job post-karaoke me  
(also, I'd be remiss to not point out that Moon's passcode does spell something...)


	14. opening up a can of wormholes

[[♪ Satellite - Guster ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAkvb2Rhces)

In Burnet’s mind, the most important purchase her lab has made in recent years is the coffee machine. 

As 6:30 PM rolls around and she’s no closer to getting to the bottom of the wormhole anomalies, she takes a break to brew a fresh pot. There’s only one other researcher in the lab, and by the time Burnet is pouring herself a generous cup of coffee, he’s already packed up and heading out, giving her a look as he chuckles, “Another late night?” 

“I’ll be heading out in a bit, just want to take another look at those readings from earlier.” Not a total lie, but her coworker doesn’t push it as they exchange their goodbyes and she goes back to the monitor she’s stationed herself at, placing her mug down next to her papers. 

The others still aren’t sold on her wormhole theory, but then they didn’t work with Mohn for years on the Ultra Space project. She did, and she saw firsthand how those wormholes all had the same origin, ran the calculations by hand in regards to a possible other dimension. 

She knows there has to be life out there. 

It might be easier to support her hypothesis if Molayne would stop being so secretive about what they’re seeing up at Hokulani. There’s no way they’ve been missing these wormholes, and they’re better equipped to track them in detail. Maybe she needs to get Kukui in on these conversations; she’s not one to mix her business and personal life, but she’s more than desperate enough to use her husband’s friendship with the head of the observatory to her advantage. 

When she’s halfway through her cup of coffee, a small beep sounds off in the empty lab. Burnet blinks, looking up from the spreadsheet on her monitor and realizing that it’s coming from the one radar they keep going twenty-four hours a day. Something must have come up. 

“What on earth?” she mumbles as she rolls her chair over, and her eyes widen as she recognizes the coordinates. A glance back at her spreadsheet confirms it’s the same spot that the last four wormholes appeared. 

Which means something big enough to register on the radar is coming out of that wormhole. 

“We were right.” Her voice is a whisper in the quiet laboratory, and then she’s standing, chair sliding across the floor as she lets out an astonished shriek. “Mohn, we were right!" 

If she follows protocol, then she should write this down in her notes and bring it up to the others tomorrow morning, when the radar records will back her up. Instead, she’s grabbing her jacket and backpack, running out the door and deciding that she’s had more than enough years of protocol. 

The door slams shut behind her, leaving behind an empty lab with a glowing monitor and a still beeping radar. 

* * *

Lillie sits at her desk chair, notebook in her lap but notes long-forgotten and pencil tucked behind her ear. She raises a hand to her lips, suppressing another giggle as Hau, while sitting on her bed across from a thoroughly confused Nebby, covers his face with his hands once again. 

“Peek-a-boo!” 

A delighted twinkle sounds in the air, and now Lillie can’t contain her laugh as Nebby travels in circles around Hau’s head. He laughs along with her, sneaking a peek over at her and his smile becoming brilliant. 

The witch shakes her head, picking her notebook back up again only to place it down behind her on her desk. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I told you I wanted to experiment a little with Nebby.” 

“I’m testing for object permanence, Lil.” Hau gives her a wink that she doesn’t know what to do with, and grins wide at the flush on the tips of her ears. Nebby, realizing the attention is no longer on him, decides to explore the basement. Hau stands and walks over to the desk, asking, “What else are we looking for?” 

Lillie hums, spinning around and picking up the pamphlet she’s created of the individual pages of UBs that Wicke was able to smuggle to her while at Aether. As Hau reads over her shoulder, she flips through the pages slowly, lingering on photos of beings that look nothing like a Cosmog. “I’m not entirely sure. What little information my father hypothesized on Ultra Beasts include things like natural poisons, electrical properties, and energy absorption, but Nebby...” 

They turn just in time to see Nebby catch sight of his own reflection in a vial of a blue potion and squeal, diving into the empty cauldron in the middle of the room to hide. 

“Is Nebby,” Hau finishes, having a hard time connecting the fearsome beasts on the page with what is essentially a newborn made of stardust. 

“Moon and Gladion mentioned that the Nihilego seemed obsessed with the poor thing, but for what reason?” Lillie takes the pencil from behind her ear, tapping it against her desk in thought as she watches Nebby slowly peek out over the cauldron. 

“Maybe Nebby knows.” Hau picks up the UB packet, flipping to a random page and holding it up as he calls out, “Hey keiki, are these guys your friends?” 

A confused chime fills the air as Nebby slowly floats closer, looking between the druid and the papers in his hands. Hau hums in thought for a moment, pointing at the sketch of some sort of figure of cords. “No? Do you know where they are?” 

It takes another moment of finger tapping against paper and ethereal chirping, but then Nebby pops up, nodding his head. “Really?” Lillies eyes widen and she drops her pencil onto her desk, leaning forward in her chair and pointing along with Hau at the diagram as she asks, wondering if it’s really possible to get an answer out of the creature, “Where are they now, Nebby?” 

She does, in fact, get an answer. 

A rather direct answer, too. 

Because in that moment, she experiences a very familiar sensation; it’s the same one she felt when standing on Sophocle’s teleport pad, with a blinding light surrounding her, closing her eyes as she feels weightless for a few moments before she’s sitting on hard ground, a cool breeze against her skin. 

When she opens her eyes, Nebby gives a chirp, though it’s lacking the usual pep, and she realizes that they’re now at the Altar of the Sunne and Moone. Her lips part in shock, gaze taking everything in from how Hau stands, also clearly stunned as he walks around, to the crumbling altar, to how Nebby floats lower, settling into her lap to rest. 

“Teleportation,” she breathes, finally feeling her thoughts return to her as she looks down at Nebby and pets the gaseous creature as she continues, voice picking up speed with each word, “His abilities include teleportation. This is incredible, we...we have to test it further, and how is it possible that a creature so small can facilitate the teleportation of three beings across this kind of distance? Hau, do you–” 

She stops, realizing he’s no longer wandering around in front of her. Turning towards the stairs leading up to the altar, she finds him looking down instead of paying attention to her. Slowly, she stands, taking Nebby in her arms as the UB closes its eyes. 

“Hau?” 

He hums, not turning around as she walks closer to him. “What was the name of that UB I showed Nebby?” 

“Xurkitree. Why?” 

And when she stops, taking her place right next to him and follows his gaze, she receives her answer, but he replies all the same, “Because there’s a Xurkitree climbing up the stairs.” 

“Ah,” she mumbles, a flat note as devoid of emotion as her face. 

The druid nods. “Should we panic?” 

The witch nods. “It seems reasonable.” 

Noise pollution in the Vast Poni Canyon spikes at the exact moment that Lillie and Hau let out a simultaneous scream. 

* * *

**From: ****Hau**** [19:19]**   
_BIG UB AT ALTER OF SUNNE AND MOONE PLEASE HELP _

**From: ****Hau**** [19:20]**   
_ME AND LILLIE TRYING NOT TO DIE _

**From: ****Hau**** [19:20]**   
_ALSO NEBBY TELEPORTS _

**From: ****Hau**** [19:21]**   
_LOT TO UNPACK HERE BUT COME QUICK _

_ Moon changed the name of the group to ‘0 days since this aliens bullshit’ _

**From: Moon [19:24]**   
_omw _

* * *

_ We have become increasingly aware that there are too many things our research and understanding of the universe cannot explain in this project. It does beg the question: are there forces at play here that we cannot understand through purely scientific inquiry? _

** _ Determining the Boundaries of Ultra Space and the Connection of Our Dimensions by Professor Mohn, The Alola Aerospace Journal, Issue 39 _ **

* * *

Lillie and Hau have been running for long enough that their legs are screaming and their lungs pound against their ribcages. Though they haven’t dared a glance back at the Xurkitree, they can still hear the crackling electricity, so close behind them even as they weave their way through the natural maze of the Vast Poni Canyon. 

Luckily, Hau knows the area just enough to lead them towards the entrance, and while he doesn’t want this giant alien getting out to the rest of Alola, he does want to meet up with the others as soon as possible, rather than wait it out at the altar. 

He glances over at Lillie, eyes flickering down to the still sleeping creature in her arms as he shouts, “How’s Nebby doing?” 

Lillie keeps her eyes ahead, trying not to stumble as she grips the Cosmog tighter to her chest. “Recovering, but I doubt he’ll be able to teleport us again soon enough.” 

A spark of electricity snaps at Hau’s back, and his face is downright desperate when he looks to the fast approaching entrance. 

“I see them!” 

Sure enough, a group of four is running towards them, and the sight alone gives Hau enough energy to throw a hand back and raise a wall of pure rock, effectively blocking the Xurkitree for a moment and giving them a little more time. 

When they meet up, Sun’s wide eyes are focused on the rock wall behind them as the UB begins to pound away at it, cracks already appearing and dust and chips of rock flying into the air. 

The grip on his nail-bat loosens. “I uh, was hoping this thing was smaller.” 

Lillie stammers between gasping breaths, “We need to keep our distance – it’s entire body seems to be constantly electrocuted.” 

“Luckily I planned for that.” Kukui passes off the crossbow in his hands to Moon, who’s quick to reach into the quiver strapped to her back and slot an arrow in. 

Sun raises a brow, mumbling, “How has your weird armory not been found out by the school?” 

“Can we have that conversation _after _defeating the twelve-foot alien?” Gladion snaps, and as if hearing its cue, the Xurkitree gives a final thrash and sends the rock wall crumbling to the ground, clouds of dust filling the air. 

The creature crouches for a moment, seeming to look for something amongst them, and giving Moon a fairly clear shot to what is presumably its head. With a deep breath and something mumbled under her breath – something suspiciously like “worst unpaid internship ever” – she sends the arrow flying, watching as it sinks into the bright white light that acts like solid mass. It reels back for a moment, releasing an unearthly cry that sends a shudder down their spines. 

A moment later, though, and an arm of wiring reaches up, strands of iron grays and copper reds encircling the arrow and pulling it out, several sparks dancing along the tip. 

“The metal of the arrow,” Lillie mutters in horror, watching as the rest of the arm swallows up the weapon, “It’s a conductor.” 

Then the Xurkitree is reaching right for her and Hau is quick to bring up another rock wall, this one smaller, giving them only a few moments to put some more distance in before limestone and clay go flying. Moon shoots another arrow at its head when it starts reaching for Lillie and Nebby again. At this point it’s clearly beginning to feel weaker, and so it still pulls the arrow out and incorporates it into the rest of its body, but more slowly, and sparking less furiously. 

Kukui looks around fervently, trying to take advantage of the moments they have when the UB isn’t lunging at them. “What we need is – honey?” 

“How’s honey going to...” Sun raises a brow, following Kukui’s wide-eyed gaze only for his own mouth to drop. “Oh shit.” 

Standing a few yards away, slack-jawed and frozen in place, is Burnet. 

Burnet, who they had specifically been going around for months now. 

Burnet, who Kukui was adamant to not get dragged into this. 

Burnet, who’s clearly been standing there for several minutes and seen everything. 

Her eyes are fixed on the Xurkitree behind them, which by now has pulled out the arrow, but in the process has lost its balance and is leaning against one side of the entrance to the Vast Poni Canyon, seeming to gather more energy as its light begins to glow brighter. 

“What are you doing here?” Kukui is quick to walk to her, his own face just as shocked, but rather than the awe in her eyes, his hold an unmistakable fear. 

Finally, she seems to register his presence, snapping her jaw shut. “Tracking an alien after spotting it at the lab.” Her voice is surprisingly calm, though when she looks behind her husband to see a few familiar faces – including at least two former students of his – along with Lillie and who must be Gladion if her memory serves her correctly, she can’t help the confusion. “What are you all doing here?” 

A tired twinkle brings her attention to the bundle of mist in Lillie’s arms, and before she can even begin to think of what to ask, the air feels electric once more and a wiry arm is reaching straight for the blonde woman. 

Moon shoots its hand, cursing that she doesn’t have a better option as their group splits to hide behind the two boulders just outside of the entrance. They have no idea if that injury is enough of a distraction to have given them the chance to properly hide, but at the very least it seems that the Xurkitree is also biding its time. 

“Need I remind you about the_ electric alien we’re fighting?”_ Gladion hisses from Moon’s side, sort of aimed at Burnet, who’s behind their boulder, sort of aimed at everyone behind the other boulder. 

“We need insulation.” Either Burnet has compartmentalized her shock or she simply has the world’s best poker face, but she’s quick to get down to business. She glances over the boulder, seeing that the Xurkitree is shifting its weight, seeming to wait for their next move. Whatever they do next, they’ll have to make it count, and so she turns and shouts, “Hau, could you cover it in that clay and rock you’ve been using to block?” 

He grimaces, stealing his own peek at the twelve-foot alien and trying to imagine how much of his depleted energy he would need to use to keep it in place. “It’s a stretch.” 

Next to the druid, Kukui nods. “Time it with Moon’s shot.” 

The two exchange a look, Hau giving Moon a nod before she pops around the side of her boulder. The Xurkitree is leaning towards the other group, and she carefully aims right for its head so that the creature cries out and stumbles back. Hau leans out and quickly raises the hard clay ground around Xurkitree, taking advantage of its confused state to start covering its body. 

Chunks of stone and clay fly into its body, and the others watch as the electricity coursing through its body grows dimmer and dimmer until its head is covered, too, leaving a giant mound of earth in front of them. Though it looks fairly still, a slight tremor begins to shake through it, and it’s clear from the sweat beading on Hau’s brow and his shaking arms that this is taking all his concentration. 

After only a few minutes, Hau’s body gives out and the Xurkitree bursts free of the rocky mound. When it does, it lets out a screech, electricity barely pulsing along its body. Moon lifts the crossbow, but her arms lock and her fingers freeze as the UB falls into a crouch with another unearthly cry, clearly hurt. 

Then it lifts its head, and with shaky legs, bounds off further into the Vast Poni Canyon, leaving their group to catch their breath in the quiet night. 

Moon lowers the crossbow, staring at it as she mumbles, “I-I’m sorry, it’s just...” She trails off, and Gladion puts a hand on her shoulder, giving a firm squeeze as she takes a shaky breath. 

“Where on earth could it have gone?” Sun mumbles, stepping out from his boulder hiding spot along with the others. His eyes try to trace the path the Xurkitree took, trying to make any sense of it. 

Kukui shakes his head. “Not sure, cousin. But it seemed like it heard or felt something.” 

“It was after Nebby, too. Like the Nihilego.” Lillie hugs the Cosmog tighter to her chest, but when she looks down she can see that he’s actually beginning to wake. Nebby blinks his eyes open, slowly taking in his surroundings with a small yawn. She and Hau let out sighs of relief, glad that their experiment gone wrong hasn’t also harmed the little UB in the process. 

“Is everyone okay? No broken bones or new sexy scars?” Burnet looks around, not seeing any major injuries as she makes her way to the front of the group. She nods, hands on her hips and eyes narrowing. “Good. Then who wants to be the first to try and explain to me exactly what’s going on here?” 

It’s incredibly quiet as most of the others avoid her eyes and Moon does her best to look casual while holding a crossbow. 

Sun is actually the first to break it, his nail-bat in one hand as he shrugs with the other, a sheepish smile on his face as he offers, “Book club?” 

And just like Kukui guessed before, that excuse doesn’t work. 

* * *

Kukui and Burnet’s house is rarely quiet, even before they had a witch move into the basement. When it was just Kukui’s place, he’d blast music at all hours of the night, glad that he didn’t have neighbors to file noise complaints as he graded papers and trained himself as a Watcher. Then Burnet entered his life, and often the seaside house would be filled with movies and conversations revolving around scientific theories and childhood memories. After their marriage, they always tried to host weekly dinners for friends, or would be playing music for the other to arrive home to. 

People who know the couple often comment on how lively their very house seems to be, embodying their warmth and spirit in the very sounds that spill out of it, a testament to a bond that feels as old and steady as time. 

Now, the house sits quiet on the sand, the crashing of waves outside muffled by the shut windows. 

Burnet sits at their table, an empty mug in front of her and her chin in her hand. Kukui leans against the kitchen counter, his eyes on the floor as he waits for her response to everything he’s told her. 

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. 

“How long?” 

He looks up, and she’s staring right through him when she presses further. “How long have you been a Watcher? How long have you known?” 

“Fifteen years ago, I received my letter from the Council.” He bites the inside of his cheek but holds her stare, adding, “I didn’t have my first encounter with the occult and really start believing until a year later.” 

It’s the wrong answer. He’s had a lot of wrong answers tonight. 

Burnet’s head is in her hands, so he can’t read her face, but he can hear the breakpoint in her voice, how it wavers at the end in the way it does when she’s truly upset. “You knew before we got married, and you kept it a secret from me this entire time?” 

“I wanted to keep you safe,” he tells her quietly, stepping towards her. 

She looks up, eyes wide and disbelieving and freezing him in place. “Who’s keeping_ you _safe?” 

“I’m sorry, I...” But he can see that she’s scared, that she needs him now more than ever, and he keeps walking, kneeling down beside her chair and wrapping his arms around her. She lets him, wraps her own arms around him and buries her face in his neck as he whispers, “I’m sorry.” 

They stay like that for a long time, and the quiet gets better. 

“You did what you thought was best, but I need you to remember that we’re a team here.” She pulls back, just enough that he can see her face, her determination as she takes him by the shoulders. “I married you, for better or worse or whatever side of things supernatural forces and aliens end up falling on.” 

It gets a laugh out of him, and she half-smiles, bringing her hands to cup his face and trace his cheekbones with her thumbs. He holds her wrists loosely, just hoping to keep himself stable as she continues softly, “I’m your partner, and I need you to trust me with this, like you trust me with everything else in our life.” 

He places a quick kiss on one of her wrists before standing, interlacing their fingers. “I do trust you. More than anyone else.” 

And she believes him, but she stands along with him. “Prove it to me. Let me help.” 

“Even if I say ‘no,’ you’re still going to find a way to get involved.” 

“You know me so well.” There’s another chuckle, and when it slows between them, Burnet squeezes his hands. “But trust goes both ways. Say the word, and I drop this.” 

Kukui pulls her into a hug, one that he doesn’t want to end. 

“I want you on my team.” 

She squeezes right back, every ounce as strong and sure and ready. 

“You got me.” 

He breathes into it, his body finally relaxing. “I regret not telling you sooner.” 

“As you should.” She looks up at him, sticking her tongue out and making it clear that she couldn’t hold it against him. He laughs a little, and her lips pull into an impish smile, eyes drifting towards the table. “You could make it up to me, though...” 

He raises a brow. “More hot cocoa?” 

She grins. “Yes please!” 

The last of the quiet leaves when he laughs, the floorboards back to their usual squeaks and windchimes carrying along the breeze once more. Soon the microwave joins as he heats up a mug of milk, glancing back at his wife with a thought in his eyes. 

“Y’know, so long as we’re getting secrets out of the way, there’s one more thing I should tell you.” Burnet tilts her head, waiting for him to continue as the microwave goes off and he mixes in her favorite cocoa powder. He sets the mug down in front of her before taking a breath, squaring his shoulders and face absolutely serious. 

“I was the Masked Royal.” 

Her mouth drops. 

And then she laughs, long and loud and so hard that she nearly falls out of her chair. 

Kukui blinks, not sure if he should feel offended as he balks, “I-I’m serious.” 

“Oh, I’m sure.” She manages to calm her breathing once more, wiping away a laughing tear as she shakes her head. “Listen, Ultra Space I’ve studied before, and forces outside of the realm of what can be explained by science are bound to exist, but you being The Masked Royal?” 

Burnet brings her mug up to her lips, shaking her head while her husband only looks on in disbelief. “You always know how to get a laugh out of me.” 

With a final sigh, he sinks into the chair next to hers, their hands quickly becoming entangled as their conversation drifts to the questions that pop into Burnet’s mind, ranging from whether garlic can actually kill a vampire to if there’s a singular bogeyman, and all of them have Kukui laughing and tracing the knuckles of her hand with his thumb. 

Below them, all crouched around the door to the living room, five young adults let out a simultaneous breath at the relief of their misadventures not destroying a marriage. 

* * *

The Xurkitree is awkward amongst the Nihilego, keeping its distance as it recovers from its wounds in a corner of the conservation area. 

Wicke keeps her eyes on Lusamine’s back, her clipboard gripped tightly in both hands as she tries to keep the plastic smile in her voice. “UB-03 Lightning confirmed to be injured but stable.” 

Nails tap against the metal railing, and though she can see Lusamine is in a good mood at the sight of her newest captive, she also knows the next dreaded question that will fall from her lips. 

“And the key?” 

“Still no sign or word from our teams or the Skulls.” Wicke tries not to flinch when a Nihilego brushes past her, just a little too close, a little too comfortable with human presence now. They bring a chilled air with them wherever they go, and their cries have begun to haunt her in her dreams. 

“Speaking of the Skulls,” Lusamine hums, though her voice drops all amusement as she spits, “The Slayer?” 

There’s a document sitting deep with Wicke’s drawer, along with a photo, confirming that the Slayer is living with Gladion. This is a new piece of critical information, something that Lusamine could use to draw either of them out, or to better plan an attack on the Slayer right in her own home if she’s feeling desperate enough. 

But that drawer in Wicke’s desk locks, and Lusamine has long given up the surveillance feed to her, and so she says calmly, evenly, “Nothing new." 

Nails stop tapping on metal. Instead, the screech of metal twisting and bending scrapes against Wicke’s ears for a horrid second, and then it’s over. 

Lusamine straightens, turning with a pristine smile on her face that doesn’t reach her eyes, glowing green and sharp enough to cut. 

“Tell Guzma I’m preparing the next experiment for him.” 

And she brushes past her assistant, leaving Wicke to watch the Xurkitree cower in the corner for a moment longer before she turns to leave and send the message. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really love Kukui and Burnet and need them both involved in this madness while continuing to be everyone's relationship goals


	15. alolan graffiti

[[♪ Choke - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvJjmWTg7Qo)

_ She watches him from the shadows, chest clenching at the sight. He’s downright pathetic here at the docks, struggling to stay upright, throwing his body against crates to keep from falling. _

_ Eventually, the pain in his chest becomes too much and he cries out, slumping against the wall and tearing at the fabric covering his chest, trying to end the white-hot pain. For a moment, it seems to subside, or maybe the exhaustion has really hit as his shoulders slump. She steps out of the shadows. _

_ He looks up at her like she’s the difference between salvation and damnation for just a moment, and then the smirk he has reserved just for her is on his face. His voice is all gravel, his chuckle barely more than a rasp. _

_ “I really fucked up this time, huh?” _

* * *

With the constant cloud cover over Po Town, it’s possible for vampires to be outside without fear of the burning sun at all hours. However, it’s rare for any of them to be awake before 5pm, much less have a group of seven Skull members sitting on the edge of the empty pool, their eyes on the Shady House windows across from them. 

An eighth vampire, a stout man with dyed blue hair and beard, crawls from out of the hedges, brushing twigs off his tank top as he takes a seat and asks, “What’d I miss?” 

The grunt next to him passes the stolen blood bag they’ve been sipping on through a straw, not unlike a juice box. “They got real quiet for a bit. Maybe they stopped.” 

The “they” referring to Guzma and Plumeria, and “stopped” referring to the hours long argument that’s forced the entirety of Shady House to vacate the immediate premises and instead eavesdrop from various spots like the roof or pool. 

It isn’t unusual for the Skull leader and second-in-command to argue. The two have known each other for nearly a hundred years now, and disagreements have come and gone. They’re usually quick to butt heads over something, hiss about it for a few days, and then meet each other behind a closed door and work something out. 

What is unusual is the fact that this is the fourth argument this week, and it’s Tuesday. 

A moment of silence passes, and then a door inside the Shady House slams and Guzma’s voice is ripping through Po Town like a banshee. 

“How do you know what’s good for me, Plumeria?!” 

“And they’re back,” another grunt mumbles, the others settling back and kicking their legs idly as the argument enters what must be its fourth hour. 

“The warning signs are all there, Guz!” There’s a lot of stomping, and for all of Guzma’s bite, Plumeria’s voice has always been able to match it in venom. “You think she gives a shit about any of us? She’s just gonna toss us away once we get her what we want, or worse, get you killed.” 

“Then why is she offering me another upgrade?” 

It becomes so quiet that the grunts sitting by the pool hold their breaths, unable to tear their eyes away from the windows despite not seeing anything. 

Her previous fight is gone, replaced instead with a cool, calculated fear as Plumeria finally responds, “No.” 

“The hell you mean ‘no?’” 

There’s a shift of movement in the windows, a silhouette passing for a moment, and their voices are growing louder along with several stomping footsteps. 

“I mean no, you’re not doing it. You don’t even know how she messed with your DNA the first time and you’re letting her do it again?” 

“She’s making me powerful.” 

“She’s making you into a _tool_!” 

The half-empty blood bag drops into the pool, several vampires’ jaws now hanging open. While opinions have been split amongst them after teaming up with Lusamine, they all can feel the truth that Plumeria cuts into with just one word. 

“Take that back,” Guzma spits, and they can hear his face shifting, tone growing primal as he growls, “Take that back right now or I swear–” 

“You know it’s true. She’s using you like a guinea pig and pretending you’re getting the business partner treatment, and then she’s just going to kick us to the curb like she did with her kids.” 

Something crashes to the ground, shattering. “You think you get to talk to me like this after everything I’ve done for you?” 

Something bigger crashes to the ground. “And you think you get to treat me like this after everything I’ve done for_ you?” _

“Where the hell are you going?” 

Footsteps, Plumeria’s, grow louder, stopping just long enough for her to spit, “Out.” 

The side door to the pool is kicked open, the vampires lining the pool’s edge flinching as Plumeria steps out, taking them in with a smirk. She rolls her eyes, making a vague “follow me” gesture with her hand before setting off for the entrance to Po Town, calling over her shoulder, “Get off your asses if you want to stop taking orders from a mad scientist and start doing things our way again.” 

Grunts scramble to their feet, a few staying behind and worriedly glancing towards Shady House where Guzma is no doubt pacing and causing his own storm of destruction, but by the time Plumeria reaches the main entrance, she has a long line of vampires ready to take on the night and take back their claim as Alola’s force of chaos. 

* * *

Gladion has made it a bit of a habit to visit Hala’s once or twice a week. At first, it was under the guise of checking up on Lillie after realizing his little sister and Hau were dating, but considering she’s usually out on deliveries at this time and he’s only ever actually seen her at the bar without the others once, it’s sort of a bad excuse. 

It’s not that he enjoys the light conversation that Hau provides, or that it’s nice that the druid can take his sardonic humor with a laugh, or even that they’ve swapped tips about training up their senses. They’re definitely not friends. 

Hala’s just has the only beer that will get a buzz going. That’s all. 

And maybe he doesn’t want to build his life completely around stopping his mother. Maybe he’s realized that his mother has already claimed so much of his life, has already taken so much from him that he could never get back, and to give her so much more of his time and energy is slowly destroying what little of a life he can have now. 

But mostly it’s the beer. 

The path from the apartment to the bar is relatively straightforward, and while it’s a quick drive in Moon’s car, it’s only a twenty-minute walk for him. Sure, normal people shouldn’t be traipsing through the woods past midnight, but when was the last time Gladion considered himself normal? 

When was the list time he considered himself a person? 

A vampire with a soul – it's enough to make him laugh. A soul isn’t enough to make him human, but it’s certainly made him all the more aware that he’s a vampire. He can remember his days with the Skulls, how easy it was for the others to bite some human and leave them on the side of the road. They wanted strength for strength’s sake, didn’t care what happened to anyone outside of their coven, and seemed content with eternity. 

They taught him what a monster he was, and he embraced it for too long before he snapped himself out of it, before Wicke got her coded messages through to him to send him back on track to stopping his mother. 

Before he met the Slayer. 

He stops that particular train of thought when he’s made his way to the parking lot of Hala’s and he sees a very familiar insignia spray-painted onto the wall, Hau scrubbing away at it. 

The Skulls have made an appearance. 

Gladion is quick to run up to Hala, who’s supervising the clean-up crew as a few other druids scrub at other graffiti left behind by the vampires. “Is everyone okay?” 

Hala nods. “Only our pride is wounded.” 

“Your old crew stopped by,” Hau explains with a lopsided smile, pausing in his scrubbing. He’s been able to get a decent amount of the black paint off the wall, but the uneven texture of the bricks has definitely made the whole ordeal harder than it needs to be. 

“But no one was harmed?” Gladion asks slowly. 

“They bit a few patrons who came out to smoke, but my guys are patching them up and explaining it away.” Hala’s never been very expressive whenever Gladion’s seen him, but the older man seems calm, enough to assuage some of his nerves and convince him that things here are well under control. 

It sounds like something the coven might have done before. Guzma has always had a penchant for causing more destruction, but Plumeria has been his impulse control, usually opting to keep them sneaky rather than destroy half of Alola. It hasn’t been until recently that their plans have gotten grander, more roundabout and focused on bringing down the Slayer. 

Gladion freezes, feeling his body grow impossibly colder. “Moon.” 

Hala and Hau give him a look, the younger druid opening his mouth, about to ask him to elaborate, but the vampire is already off and running back to the apartment. 

He realizes this could have been a trap. They know where Moon lives, and maybe this was just the bait to draw him out, distracting him long enough that they could try and find a way into her home. Granted, they can’t enter without being invited, but considering they’ve dipped into magic before, who knows what they could have now? 

The front door is still locked but that means nothing to him as he slams open her bedroom door, ready to find an empty bed and a note. 

Instead, Moon bolts nearly upright at the sound, hand instinctively going underneath her pillow and pulling out a stake, locking eyes with the figure in her doorway. 

They stare at each other for a moment, both recovering form separate heart attacks. 

_ “I thought you were–” _

He cuts himself off at the same time she does, and Moon drops her stake, gesturing for him to go first as she rubs sleep from her eyes. 

“Skulls were active around Hala’s. Thought maybe it was a distraction.” His grip on the doorknob tightens as he tries not to cringe, because sure it explains why he checked up on her, but it still sounds like an overreaction to him. 

She nods, running a hand through her mussed hair. “Seems they’re not as coordinated as we give them credit for,” she chuckles, but it’s coated in sleepiness, voice just rough enough around the edges that Gladion feels...something. 

“Right.” He’s never actually seen her in the morning. She’s usually waking up just as he’s going to bed, so the sight before him is an entirely new one. Her eyes are soft and half-lidded, clearly ready to go back to sleep, and her cheeks and lips are puffier than usual. Then his gaze travels to the bandage on her neck from their last feeding session a few hours ago, and then lower to where the strap of her nightgown has fallen just off her shoulder and– 

_ “__Wel__l__goodnight__then__.” _

He slams the door a little too hard, Moon flinching before mumbling, “Night...” 

Gladion stands just outside her door, catching the breath he doesn’t actually need and trying not to burn that image into his mind, and suddenly feeling a little like a regular person. 

* * *

_ The call of the Slayer only affects humans; however, it is not unheard of that a Slayer, either through choice or an encounter, will become a hybrid. While not ideal, it is, arguably, better than being killed. _

** _ Doctor _ ** ** _ Gramtapen’s _****_Grimoire, 14_****_th_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

The labs at Aether used to be located aboveground, with the majority of them dedicated to conservation and environmental science, and a few serving as the central base for the Ultra Space project. 

Then Mohn had met an untimely end, the Ultra Space project was cut short, and Lusamine moved everything underground. 

Her heels click against the metal walkway, echoing in the bright light of the sterile hallway. While she might normally have some of her own scientists down here, unscrupulous individuals from the far corners of the globe who are more than willing to experiment on alien life, she gave the express order that she wants the entire basement to herself. 

But she’s not alone. 

“Then she up and left?” she asks over her shoulder, giving Guzma a rehearsed, incredulous look. 

The Skull leader shrugs, either making a show of not caring or clearly used to the behavior. “Yeah, she’s pulling some shit all over town.” 

“She’s just trying to get your attention, dear.” Lusamine turns the corner, leading them to the final door on the right as she tells him smoothly, “I wouldn’t pay it any mind.” 

She opens the lab door, allowing Guzma to step inside first, and the vampire feels an involuntary shudder run down his spine. He only has foggy memories of his last visit to the laboratory; he thought that might be a good thing, but considering his instincts are screaming at him to run, there might have been some validity to Plumeria’s concerns. 

“So uh, what exactly am I in for today?” he asks as he sits on the examination table, watching Lusamine shrug on her lab coat. 

Her hand flares with green and yellow magic, and he remembers that she used something that looked similar last time. Anesthesia, apparently, doesn’t really work on vampires. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be knocked out the whole time.” 

He nods, and she goes to a table of equipment, turning her back to him and obscuring his view from the tools she has laid out. His gaze travels the room, nostrils flaring at the overly sterile scent – it smells like someone’s trying to cover something. The rest of the room is a bright white, nothing out of place and nothing giving away what else this room could be used for. It leaves little for him to do as he waits, and so Guzma tries to make conversation, mumbling, “Y’know, Plumeria didn’t want me coming in today.” 

A latex glove snaps. “Oh?” 

“Yeah, I think she’s just jealous.” He knows Plumeria wouldn’t want him saying this, but Lusamine seems to appreciate when he tells her these things, when he keeps her updated on everything going on around him. 

She sighs, and he can see her left hand is in a blue plastic glove. With a few steps, she’s in front of him, her right hand under his chin as she purrs, “We’re friends, aren’t we, dear?” He feels his mouth go dry at the word, at the thought that someone like her would see someone like him as an equal, so he nods. 

Lusamine smiles. “Of course. Well, as your friend, it’s my duty to let you know that she’s holding you back.” 

Her hand leaves him and she’s back to her table now, putting on another glove and her surgical mask. Guzma feels his stomach drop, feels a flash of something white-hot and angry in him that he’s never had the thought to control. 

“I didn’t want to say anything before. Believe me, I treasure the friendship she has brought you for years now, but it’s clear that she doesn’t want you reaching your full potential.” She turns, pausing in her preparation to fix him with a look. “Not like _I _do.” 

His skin itches, and he scratches the back of his hand. “I think she’s just getting used to us having a boss.” 

Her mouth is still hidden, but her green eyes narrow. “By demeaning_ you_? By taking control of _your _grunts the moment you aren’t there? By trying to keep _you _from getting stronger?” 

“What do you mean?” 

He’s right on the edge, and she can tell he just needs a final push. She’s been dangling various rewards, various threats over his head for months now, and it’s all been leading up to this moment. 

“It just seems personal, darling, and like I’m a red herring.” But then she shrugs, careful and calculated as she turns back to her medical equipment and drawls, just loudly enough for him to hear, to latch onto and be driven wild, “Of course, it could be nothing.” 

She hears him shifting on the table, can feel his anger filling the room, and knows she has him right where she wants him. 

“Nah, because I can tell she’s hiding stuff from me. She knows shit and isn’t telling me, I know it. It’s like you said last time,” he rants to uncaring ears. 

Lusamine turns with a sigh. “Oh, I hate when I’m right.” 

The surgical mask hides her smile. 

Guzma runs his hands through his hair, only serving to make it stick up at odder angles as his eyes grow wide and panicked. “I mean, shit, what do I–” 

Her heels click against the linoleum floor, one hand holding a drill-adjacent tool as she places her other on his shoulder, guiding him to lay down on the examination table. As he looks up into her eyes, she’s backlit by the fluorescents above him, face cast in shadows as her empty hand fills with swirling magic that washes over his head. 

“It’s all right, dear, just relax.” His eyelids grow heavy and the world grows dark, the last things he hears being a drill starting up and a voice saying, “You’re in my hands now.” 

* * *

It’s a rare night when Moon feels good. 

Not that she’s had a lot of bad days, but often she’s sore from dealing with the supernatural, or hyperaware of the progress they have yet to make in finding the failsafe she can trigger to stop the apocalypse. There’s not a lot of room left in her head to clear the space and go to sleep with a clear conscience. 

But tonight has felt productive, at least. After everything with the Xurkitree, Moon realized that she’s out of practice with most of her Slayer weaponry. The dojo masquerading as a Slayer training ground in Saffron City mostly covered hand-to-hand combat, but she’d also had a crash course in most simple weapons. It’s the only reason she was able to fire off the crossbow in the first place, but the soreness in her arms revealed that she’d forgotten the correct way to hold it. 

She’d actually been the one to suggest the training session, but Kukui’s eyes lit up and he handled the rest. He’d managed to sneak some things from his armory back to his house, and Burnet ended up joining them as they set up a training area right on the beach. 

It was nice to have someone to spar and practice with. Sure, she definitely had to hold her strength back against Kukui and Burnet’s much more fragile bodies, but it was still better practice than a punching bag. She also got a chance to teach what she already knew to Burnet when it came to hand-to-hand combat, as the scientist was looking a little rusty after only a few self-defense courses years ago. 

All in all, it was a surprisingly nice night, and her body is just worn out enough that she thinks she’ll be able to go to sleep right when her body hits the mattress. 

She walks towards the convenience store where she parked her car, pausing when she hears the hiss of aerosol cans and laughter. Her mind flashes to last night, when Gladion scared her half to death and mentioned Skulls had been at Hala’s. 

With a crouch and a hand going to the stake she keeps in her back pocket, she approaches the side of the convenience store, hiding behind a car. Sure enough, a group of five or six vampires with brightly colored hair and matching tank tops and hoodies are spread across the wall, tagging it with the Skull insignia and various signatures. 

Before she can pounce, one of them turns, pigtails of blonde and pink swaying with the action as she sniffs the air and senses something that makes her frown. Plumeria turns to the others, giving them a whistle that cuts through their conversations and a jerk of her chin that sends them scattering even before she commands, “Run.” 

Moon doesn’t even bother to chase after them, deciding instead to slowly step out from hiding. Plumeria circles her for a moment, yellow eyes glinting in the parking lot light above them. “I’m getting real tired of you ragging on these dummies.” 

“Well I’m getting tired of you guys trying to hunt me,” the Slayer counters, slowly shifting into a more defensive stance. 

The vampire glares, nostrils flaring and face shifting into dark veins. “Believe me, wasn’t my idea.” 

When she pounces, Moon realizes she hasn’t fought Plumeria before, and isn’t quite sure what to expect. After the initial lunge, Plumeria goes in for another swipe, trying to use their proximity to her advantage. Moon follows her rhythm for a moment, able to dodge the punches easily until she can cut off beat with a sweep of her legs, sending the vampire crashing onto her back on the pavement. 

Only for Plumeria to take the hit and roll back up onto her legs a moment later. 

Moon blinks, because the move feels oddly familiar somehow, and certainly a far cry from most vampires’ brute strength approach. The difference between this and fighting Guzma is nearly night and day, and she can’t help but mumble, “Not bad form, Strawberry Banana Smoothie.” 

“Piss off.” Plumeria tries to make a grab for the stake, but Moon steps back and follows her momentum, delivering an elbow into her back and sending Plumeria stumbling several feet. She growls, turning to face the Slayer with her now red eyes flashing. “The faster I take you out, the less I have to deal with Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Aether.” 

“Not a fan of saving the turtles?” 

She doesn’t give Plumeria time to think of an answer as she decides to go for the attack, trying to land a roundhouse kick that Plumeria catches, and she tugs on her leg to send her to the ground. When she goes to pin her, however, Moon has her stake pointing up, ready to pierce her chest and Plumeria is grabbing one of her wrists and– 

There’s a moment of Recognition. 

Not a conscious recognition, but something underneath Moon’s mind, something that has been built years and years before her, centuries of a lineage she has inherited. 

When she looks up at Plumeria, she isn’t looking up at the eyes of an enemy, but a sister. 

Time freezes as Plumeria senses it, too, feels the pull as the two see each other for who they are. 

Moon lowers her stake. 

“You’re a Slayer.” 

The words burn the vampire as she scrambles off the Slayer, desperate to put distance between them once more. Moon sits up in confusion, catching Plumeria’s eyes and instantly recognizing a strange fear and anxiety in them as her face shifts back to normal. 

“Don’t tell anyone or I’ll kill you,” she spits, but it lacks her usual poison and it’s almost turns into a plea. 

Then she’s turning and running off into the dark, hidden quickly by the shadows, and Moon is left to sit on the pavement, the stake rolling away, as she watches the retreating form with an ache in her chest. 

She can’t fight a fellow Slayer, she won’t. 

Which makes this all so much more complicated, and throws her hopes of a good night’s sleep out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some things to keep in mind:  
1\. if anyone ever treats you like Lusamine treats Guzma, go ahead and run  
2\. Plumeria retained some of her Slayer powers, but not her soul  
3\. Gladion is a disaster because he sees Moon's collarbone/shoulder once (1) and reacts Like That (this one is arguably less important than the other two but no less true)


	16. blow me

[[♪ Black Magic - Magic Wands ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1trTRdwVCg)

Lillie has taken every precaution to not be seen on her flight over to the tiny island off the coast of Poni. She stands in front of the entrance to the cave, a snake in the shape of the symbol of Venus carved above, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. She’s hidden her broom, and triple-checked that she hasn’t been followed. It’s just her and the path to the Coven of the Arcane Feminine. 

“Hey, you here for the witch thing?” 

Her heart leaps up through her throat as she lets out a squeal, turning to find a young blonde woman with sleepy eyes and paint-stained clothes, observing her with a soft smile. 

“I, um...” She can sense a strong magical energy coming off of the other woman, something mixed with various supernatural shades and mysterious origins that she can’t pinpoint; it’s safe to say she’s in the presence of another witch, and one well-traveled. Her eyes glance back towards the cave, and she feels the knot of nerves she’s been wrestling all night building in her stomach once more as she mumbles, “Maybe.” 

The other witch’s grin widens as she holds out a hand lethargically. “Cool. I’m Mina.” 

“Lillie.” She shakes her hand, and paired with Mina’s easy smile, it helps put her more at ease. “Are you a part of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine?” 

Mina furrows her brows, her gaze slowly drifting to the cave behind Lillie until her eyes widen, as though she’d just forgotten the entire reason for her coming here or even her initial question. With a quick shake of her head she explains, “Nah. I’ve been traveling around for a while though, figured I should try and make a little more of a home base for myself. You wanna check them out together?” 

Something about Mina is incredibly calming – there's also the fact that she reminds Lillie a lot of Sun, who is just about the friendliest and least threatening person she knows. In the end, Lillie agrees with a nod and the two head into the cave, both summoning quick orbs of light, a mix of unearthly blue and pink lighting their way down the impossibly long passage. 

A comfortable silence settles between them, their steps echoing as a cold wind blows through the cave. 

But the passage leading to the meeting place of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine is known for being long enough to deter those not in the know, and so they have some time to kill. Mina looks at the other witch out of the corner of her eye. “So, you from Alola?” 

Lillie nods, not entirely sure how much she wants to divulge; after all, Mina seems nice, but she’s still a stranger and could probably do without the complicated mess that is her life story. “Yes, I was born and raised here. What about you?” 

“I don’t think of myself as really ‘from’ anywhere, y’know?” The way she says it, like she’s either walked straight out of a philosophy class or a smoke shop, has Lillie biting back a giggle. Mina seems to hear it all the same, but it fuels another smile, the girl shoving her hand into the pockets of her loose jeans. “But I’ve been traveling around Alola a lot lately. Want one?” 

They pause, Lillie blinking as she realizes Mina’s holding out an open tin of mints. 

She assumes they’re mints. Objectively, they’re small, round, and white. 

“Oh, no thank you.” She decides not to take her chances, unsure if it’s impolite, but Mina simply shrugs and tosses one in her mouth before putting the tin back in her pocket. The two continue on their way, and with a growing curiosity about the intriguing witch next to her, Lillie asks, “What have you seen of Alola?” 

“Well I heard about this ancient burial ground a while back on Ula’ula, but when I went to check it out one night, this weird dude in a uniform with a bunch of cats told me they were doing construction and I couldn’t go in.” Mina leans in as they walk, adding in a conspiratorial whisper and cheeky wink, “Between you and me, like ninety percent sure he was a ghost.” 

_ So Nanu really was keeping watch, _Lillie thinks with a hum, memories from that night popping into her mind as she replies, “Most likely. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the site.” 

Mina shrugs, stretching her arms above her head. “Probably for the best. Bones like, majorly freak me out. Oh, but I caught this_ crazy _music festival.” 

“Sandscript?” It’s nearly laughable if that’s the case, and Lillie has to bite her cheek at the thought that someone could be just on the periphery of everything her and the others have been up to. 

“Yeah! I went Saturday night ‘cause the headlining band has this really cute siren, but then there was this totally weird fire and I figured magic was happening, and if they were looking for someone to pin it on, I’d be like, suspect numero uno.” Mina nods to herself before turning to Lillie with a tilt of her head. “Were you there?” 

She hesitates for a moment, but decides it’s probably for the best to go for a simple white lie. “I missed it.” 

“Aw, sucks. It was dope until the fire. I figured that got handled, apparently there’s a Slayer around here who’s been super active recently.” 

“Yes, she’s done a fantastic job.” 

It’s out before Lillie can think better of it. She can’t help but gush a bit when it comes to her friends, and she’s been impressed with Moon since the first time they met. 

“You know her?” Mina looks at her with wide eyes as Lillie shyly nods. “What’s she like? I’ve never met a Slayer before but I’ve met a few Watchers and they all seem to have sticks up their butts. Is she chill?” 

She thinks over her answer for a moment, laughing at Mina’s wording. Her mind drifts to when she’s witnessed Moon in action, watching her take charge and fight without seemingly a single fear or hesitation. “I think so. She’s very strong, and confident in herself.” 

“Is she, like, slaying left and right?” 

“A bit?” Lillie frowns as she thinks, though it’s quickly replaced with a small smile. “She actually tries to find different solutions, where as many people as possible can be happy.” 

Mina lets out a low whistle, apparently also a fan of the approach. “Tight.” 

Lillie nods, not quite able to bite back the adoring sigh as she admits, “I think I’d like to be more like her.” 

“Well she sounds dope.” Their orbs of light slowly dim, disappearing completely as the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter. When they reach the opening, the cool night air greets them with a breeze, and the ground beneath them becomes a gentle incline transitioning from hard rock to soft grasses. “Here we are, watch your step.” 

She hesitates, watching as Mina easily steps out into the clearing, backpack half-open and hair falling out of its ponytail. It seems so easy for her to walk into a witch coven as old as time and as notorious as this one, but Lillie can’t quite bring herself to take that last step. Now that she really thinks about it, Mina is actually the first witch she’s met outside of her mother, and it’s a bit intimidating to think that in just a few moments, she’ll be surrounded by others. 

What if she’s not good enough? 

With a lopsided smile, Mina gently snaps her from her thoughts, tilting her head and mumbling, “Hey man, if you ever wanna leave...say the word and I’ll dip with you.” 

It makes her heart a little lighter, and she nods, because maybe she still doesn’t know Mina that well, but everything about the young woman feels simple in a trustworthy way. She steps out into the clearing, the two walking side by side for a moment longer before they see a group of women of various ages standing in a circle and all in black. 

A single figure makes her way to the front as the others turn, and she looks to be a little older than Lillie, with silver hair and a beauty mark. 

“Welcome to the Coven of the Arcane Feminine,” she greets, holding her arms wide as a smile overtakes her face, the witches behind her similarly smiling as they whisper amongst each other, “We’ve been waiting for you. My name is Kahili.” 

Mina holds up a hand in a sort of half-wave, half-greeting. “Yo, I’m Mina.” 

Kahili nods. “Yes, Mina, the nomad who has made her way through even the fae realms.” 

Lillie’s jaw drops, because that detail was left out of their conversation, and it’s no small feat to end up in the fae realms, much less come out. She turns to the other witch with wide eyes, but Mina chuckles, shrugging as though it was just another day trip. “Accidentally stepped into a fairy circle; happens.” 

“I-I’m Lillie,” she stammers when she realizes she’s been silent for too long. Her hands grip the strap of her bag tighter, trying not to fidget under the gaze of the silver-haired witch in front of her. 

“Yes, Lillie, a powerful young witch in her own right, who’s looking to step out of the unsightly shadow cast by her mother.” 

Her brow furrows for a moment, stomach dropping at the mere mention of her mom. She’s gone years hidden away from the world, a careful move on Lusamine’s part to try and train her for her own purposes while also erasing her from the public eye and the Aether reputation. To hear someone mention her relation so casually feels odd, and her mouth goes dry as she asks, “You know my mother?” 

“Not personally. We reached out to her, once, about joining us.” Kahili’s face twists in distaste, nose scrunching and the whispers behind her growing judgmental. “She refused, and we’ve since thought better of that offer.” 

The circle of witches behind her nods, and there’s a strange mix of relief and trepidation in Lillie’s stomach at the sight. Before she can fully psych herself out, Mina is stepping forward just a hair, taking in the island clearing as she casually asks, “Well, you gals have a cool setup here, mind if we chill with you for a bit?” 

Kahili smiles, reaching out and taking each of their hands. “Please join us. We’re just warming up for the night.” 

They walk to the circle, and though Lillie bites her cheek the entire time, butterflies threatening to escape her stomach and into her chest and throat, she can’t help but smile. As Kahili integrates them into the circle and she intertwines her hands with two members who smile back at her, Lillie lets out one last nervous giggle, and then the group is going into a simple incantation chant to invoke the wind. She closes her eyes and joins in, the phrases rolling off her tongue easily after years of practice, and she’s never heard a spell so nicely recited by so many voices, all working in tandem and lifting hers up. 

It’s nice to be a part of group so like her, she thinks. 

And when she squeezes the hands of the coven sisters on either side of her, they squeeze back. 

* * *

Sun doesn’t often head to Kukui’s place by himself, but when Lillie texted him about her latest find he made sure to head over right after his courier shift ended. After a quick knock and a few moments of waiting, the front door opens, but it’s Kukui’s face. 

“Hey, is Lillie here?” 

“Sorry cousin, she’s out.” The Watcher opens the door wider and steps aside, allowing Sun to take a step into the living room as he adds, “Can I help you instead?” 

Further in, Sun can see that Burnet is set up at the kitchen table, several tomes open around her as Nebby floats by her shoulder – he must have interrupted one of their study sessions to get the scientist all caught up in all things supernatural. She gives him a wide grin and a wave as she greets, “Hi Sun!” 

He gives a quick wave in response, turning back to Kukui as his face slides into a frown. It’s unlike Lillie to have texted for him to come over only to forget, so she must be following up her lead somehow. He explains, “She said she found something about two flutes? But she wasn’t sure how a Slayer is supposed to use them, so she wanted me to take a look.” 

Kukui thinks for a moment, but ultimately shakes his head. “Doesn’t sound like anything familiar to me.” 

“Did she mention when she’d be back?” 

The two adults exchange a look, Nebby floating off towards a plant in the living room, having grown bored of the conversation. Burnet adjusts her ponytail as she mumbles, “Not really, but she said she had some delivery on Poni if that gives you any idea.” 

“Okay, thanks.” He mumbles a quick round of goodbyes, heading back out into the night and up the beach towards where he’s parked his old truck. 

With a frown, Sun considers the oddity of the whole situation. Lillie is usually pretty good, almost too good, about letting everyone know what she’s up to. Surely, if she had a last-minute delivery, she would’ve told Sun and they’d reschedule. 

Unless she didn’t want anyone to stop her. 

And now that he thinks about, wasn’t there a coven he read about before when they were dealing with the talking book who were based just outside of Poni? 

“Aw man,” he mutters to himself as he comes to the realization, stopping just next to his mom’s old truck with a frown. “We can’t compete with a super cool witch cult.” 

* * *

“And release.” 

At the sound of Kahili’s voice, Lillie breathes out, slowly opening her eyes and watching as a full-grown palm tree rises from the seed in front of her, growing tall into the night sky. She stops when she sees it’s as tall as the other trees on the island, and smiles when she hears the rest of the coven clap. 

The others nod, pointing and cheering for her before turning back to their own work, helping each other as they practice flora manipulation and attempt to get their own palm trees as tall as hers. 

“Very good.” Kahili places a manicured hand on Lillie’s shoulder, and the blonde witch looks up at her with a small smile. With a sigh, the leader of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine says for not the first time tonight, “I can tell you’re still holding back, though, Lillie.” 

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “W-well a modicum of control is always good, isn’t it?” 

“Who taught you that?” Kahili’s voice drops into something icy, and though the callousness isn’t aimed at her directly, it still causes Lillie to flinch. Periwinkle eyes narrow. “Was it your mother?” 

As it turns out, Kahili’s earlier thoughts about her mother were an understatement. If anything, Lillie might even wager that the young woman is more enraged with Lusamine that she is, especially after Lillie let slip some of the treatment she received while at Aether. 

And yes, she knows she has every right to be upset, and in many ways she still deals with the repercussions of what her mother did to her. 

It just leaves a bad taste in her mouth to be so constantly reminded of it. 

“Hey uh, good vibes over here?” 

Both of the witches turn to see Mina watching them with a slight frown. She’s wandered over from the others, and though her body is relaxed, it’s clear she’s as on edge as she can be. 

Kahili steps back, voice all sighs and pity as she explains, “I’m just wondering if Lillie is as committed to her growth as we are.” 

“...so no?” Mina raises a brow, challenging Kahili for a moment. The coven leader balks, scoffing under her breath but deciding to walk away and bring her focus back to the other members, leaving Mina and Lillie on their own off to the side of the clearing. When she’s sure that the others are out of earshot, Mina leans in and whispers gently, “Hey, offer still stands if you wanna dip.” 

Lillie sighs, shaking her head as she gives Mina a grateful smile; if she hadn’t been here tonight, she’s not sure if she could have handled Kahili’s laser-focus on her. “Not yet, I still haven’t gotten to ask about my book or the flutes.” 

Before either of them can add anything else, Kahili claps her hands together, the sound booming across the clearing and drawing all eyes on her as she regards her members with a smile. “Why don’t we try a group exercise? Lillie.” Her eyes cut right through the blonde witch, who swallows hard when she feels so many pairs of eyes on her. “Have you ever played ‘light as a feather, stiff as a board?’” 

“Once, at a sleepover.” It was the only sleepover she’d ever attended, and while they had tried to play the game with the lights off, the other girls quickly grew scared and Lillie didn’t actually get the chance to try it. 

Which is probably for the better, seeing as her powers were just starting to manifest and it was highly likely she might have actually made the poor girl float. 

Kahili walks to her, placing an arm on her back, between her shoulder blades, and gently leading her towards the center of the clearing, the other coven members beginning to form a circle around them. “Well, I can assure you it’s a little different when playing with a group of powerful witches.” 

After setting her bag down close by, Lillie lies down, staring up at the stars as she keeps her breathing even. The other witches slowly crouch, a dozen or so squeezing around her and placing two fingers of each hand under her body. Those who can’t touch her directly instead lend their power by touching the shoulders of those who are, and slowly, building on the wind, the chant begins. 

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” 

It’s mindless, no real magic in the words, and only meant to concentrate them and set a rhythm. Lillie gasps when she feels the gentle pulse of magic under her body, pushing gently upwards and making her body feel lighter as she’s slowly lifted into the air, a few feet off the ground. The witches stand, rising with her and continuing their chant. 

Kahili circles the affair, her eyes sharp as she watches for moments to step in and critique, nodding as she explains, “Remember ladies, it’s about trust, and building on one another.” 

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” 

Lillie feels her heart begin to race with the power building underneath her, but then she realizes that her body is still floating ever higher. She can’t feel anyone’s hands on her, and though she doesn’t dare look down, she can tell the tops of trees around her are growing closer. If she had to guess, she could easily say she’s ten feet off the ground and still rising. 

Her breath catches in her throat. 

She’s always been afraid of heights. 

“I-I’m very high,” she mumbles, not sure if it’s louder than a whisper because all sound seems foggy now, like she’s underwater. 

Kahili’s voice, clear, authoritative, confident, rises up to her ears. “Yes, but we can get you higher.” 

Lillie swallows, feeling her body begin to shake and her eyes watering. “Actually, um, I’d like to come down now.” 

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” 

A frond of a palm tree tickles her shin and she shuts her eyes, digging her voice out from deep within her gut as she yells, “P-please put me down now!” 

Mina’s voice cuts through the air, tense and with no room for argument. “Yo, she said enough.” 

Though Lillie doesn’t see the group below her turn to Kahili for guidance, she can hear the chanting ramble off and she feels her body frozen in air, floating as though in the middle of the ocean, bobbing up and down. 

“Fine. Bring her down. She’s _ afraid.” _

Slowly, her body lowers, gaining weight once more until she can bring her legs under her and feel the ground. A few of the witches ask how she’s feeling, if she’s all right, and Mina is trying to push her way towards her, but Lillie is shaking her head, grabbing her bag and walking through the crowd as she calls out, “Kahili, please, may I have a word?” 

When she steps out of the group of witches, Kahili is there, looking at her as if she’s torn between disappointment and boredom. “Walk with me.” 

As she catches her breath, Lillie mindlessly follows Kahili’s steps, hands tightening on the strap of her bag. She can feel the book inside with every step, weighing her down as she collects her thoughts. 

“You see, I’m not sure if you’ve caught wind of what my mother has been up to, but–” 

“We’ve kept an eye on her, but it’s our policy to not intervene in the affairs of any witch,” Kahili cuts in smoothly, her eyes straight ahead as they walk further from the rest of the coven. 

“Oh. I see.” Lillie tries not to flinch at the curt tone, or the realization that someone could have seen the suffering her mother has been planning and simply turn a blind eye. “Well, I realized that the Coven of the Arcane Feminine has actually created and is still in possession of the only magical artifacts that can stop her.” 

Their steps come to a halt just outside of the entrance to the cave back to the rest of the island. Kahili looks at her with half-lidded eyes, face halfway to a sneer as she tells her simply, primly, “You can’t have the Sun and Moon flutes.” 

The air is suffocating in her lungs, stale and stagnant in the face of such a bland rejection. Lillie clears her throat, having expected much more of a conversation at least. “I-I understand it’s a very big ask, but I know the Slayer! I can ensure they stay in safe hands until they’re used, or they could even stay here, but I would like to study them.” 

“Only approved members of our coven may use them, and you have yet to prove yourself.” 

Lillie is patient. She has spent years of her life waiting for the moment to escape her mother, and she has spent all night trying to integrate into the Coven of the Arcane Feminine, trying to see their perspective. 

But after the constant, underhanded belittlement and reminders of Lusamine’s shadow, her patience is becoming brittle and getting close to snapping in half. 

She nearly huffs, but instead fixes her face into a hard stare and keeps her voice clipped. “Very well, but this is a matter of the world ending, surely–” 

“Surely nothing.” It still doesn’t move Kahili, who only raises a brow, condescendingly asking, “Anything else?” 

It takes a deep breath for Lillie to stop seeing red. She reminds herself that this a coven as old as time, with rules and practices that have been put in place and evolving long before she was even born. Now isn’t the time to argue those, and she can understand some hesitancy in handing over artifacts associated with the first Slayer. 

After accepting that the flutes will have to wait, she opens her bag, carefully reaching in and holding out a black leather novel with the crest of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine embossed in silver on the front cover. “I believe we should destroy this book.” 

Kahili blinks at the sight of the tome, and then her periwinkle eyes, which seemed so gentle at the start of the night, narrow. “Out of the question – we do not destroy any work of our members.” 

“It’s dangerous.” 

“We’re aware of the nature of Shauntal.” 

This is when her patience snaps. 

Lillie is familiar with waiting. She has waited for her mother’s approval that never came, she has waited for the grief of her father to get lighter, she has waited for years to stop the destruction of the world. 

She is sick and tired of waiting. It has left her guilt-ridden and anxious and ready to act. 

To hear that there’s a group who can see the evil in the world, can know that they’re the cause of it, and are content to simply wait and see is inexcusable, unforgiveable, and it takes the last of her wealth of patience and snaps it cleanly into seventeen pieces. 

Her voice is a step away from a yell, shrill and causing a scene but she can’t bring herself to care, not when she realizes the world is made of people who are just waiting. “You’re aware? You _ knew _that this was trapping various magic users for hundreds of years and you allowed it to happen?” 

Oddly, Kahili seems more tired than upset. When she answers, it feels like a lecture, one she’s given countless times and that crawls under Lillie’s skin, only agitating her spirit more with every word. 

“Lillie, the Coven of the Arcane Feminine is a space that allows witches to explore the limits of their magic without the restrictions that are placed upon us by society. Sometimes that magic takes a nastier form, and we embrace it as the rebellion against the femininity placed upon us by society.” 

“But that rebellion destroyed lives.” 

She very nearly brushes off the hand that Kahili places on her shoulder, but she’s too aware of the other coven members watching them, whispering. “Those are your inhibitions talking; why don’t you embrace the side of you your mother has tried to lock away?” 

And as the coven leader walks back to the others, Lillie watches her with a frown, unsure how to tell her that that’s exactly what she’s been doing ever since she ran away from Aether. 

* * *

_ For the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, and so the blood of our sisterhood is made all the stronger by our drive for the ancient knowledge that has always been ours to claim. _

** _ Excerpt from the Manifesto of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine, Author Unknown _ **

* * *

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ’operation get lillie back’ _

**From: Sun [22:16]**   
_so long as she hasn’t done the blood pact yet we still have a shot!! _

**From: ****Sun[****22:17]**   
_let’s brainstorm some convincing arguments for her to not leave us _

**From: ****Gladion**** [22:20]**   
_She’s not going to leave us. _

**From: Sun [22:21]**   
_well what do we bring to the table? _

**From: ****Hau**** [22:23]**   
_I’m dating her _

**From: Moon [22:24]**   
_humble brag _

**From: ****Hau**** [22:24]**   
_And we have Nebby! She loves Nebby _

**From: Sun [22:26]**   
_2 excellent points _

**From: Sun [22:27]**   
_what can we provide magic tutelage-wise? _

**From: Moon [22:29]**   
_nothing _

**From: ****Gladion**** [22:29]**   
_Nothing._

**From: ****Hau**** [22:29]**   
_Nothing :( _

**From: Sun [22:31]**   
_work with me people _

**From: Sun [22:32]**   
_what else do we offer? _

**From: ****Gladion**** [22:35]**   
_Inevitable apocalypse prevention. _

**From: ****Hau**** [22:36]**   
_Friendship!! _

**From: Moon [22:38]**   
_about 3 brain cells _

_ Sun changed the name of the group to ‘operation failed we’re so losing lillie’ _

* * *

Tonight has been filled with conversations about her mother, being forced to face her fear of heights, and being denied the entire reason she traveled out to the Coven of the Arcane Feminine. 

But the tiny black dress in Lillie’s hands may be the final straw. 

“This is a bit silly,” she mumbles, not quite sure how she’s supposed to squeeze her body into it. When she holds the fabric up for inspection, there’s a subtle sparkle to it; it’s not a bad dress, but it’s certainly not her style. The whole thing feels a bit like a costume, and she’s still not entirely sure that this isn’t a prank. 

Kahili crosses her arms, shifting the fabric of her own polo dress as she argues, “Clothing can be a tool for empowerment.” 

Mina and Lillie share a look. “I don’t disagree, but I like my clothes already.” 

“Yeah, I gotta say, this isn’t my aesthetic.” Mina holds the top and skirt she was handed up to her body, taking in the checkerboard pattern with a raised brow. It’s a far cry from the paint stains and baggy T-shirt. 

“It promotes unity.” The rest of the coven is watching them, dressed in their own black and short skirts, and Lillie has to concede that point. 

Still, after years of being told what to wear, of her appearance being so closely monitored, she’s come to enjoy a certain freedom in dressing. It feels cheap to give that up now when this is supposed to be a group all about expressing herself. “I could change the color of my dress–” 

“Lillie, is there a reason you want to undermine my authority?” Kahili lifts a hand, pointing in the direction of the cave with a merciless glare that drops the temperature of the island by at least ten degrees. “If you don’t want to unlock your full potential with us, then leave.” 

Lillie gapes, unsure how or why all their conversations turn so one-sided. “But–” 

“No excuses. Either you accept our help to unlock your full power or leave.” 

The words sit awkwardly between them. The other witches are silent, and Mina is looking between the two, clearly debating if she needs to step in. 

With the last of the kindness leaving her face, Lillie drops the dress to the ground. 

“Fine. You want my full power?” 

The wind picks up, her hair floating around her as her body takes on a light blue halo of light. Her feet lift off the ground as she closes her eyes, holding out her hands and feeling white-hot electricity crackle along their lengths. She can hear the other witches gasping, whispering, and it puts an unkind smile on her face, her eyes white glowing orbs when she opens them to gaze at those below. 

“Is this what you want?” she asks, voice hollow and booming over the wind that continues, dark clouds gathering as she feels the darker side of her magic slipping through the tight lock she keeps on it. “Is this the monster you want me to be?" 

Kahili stares at her with wide eyes, lips parted in shock and something like fear. “Lillie, I–” 

“No. You’re listening to me now.” Thunder roars above her to punctuate the point, the coven falling silent before her. No doubt her skin has taken on some unnatural shade and her eyes have only grown more horrifying, but she revels in it for the moment, delighting in how her voice carries as she snaps, “For someone who admonishes my mother, you act exactly like her. You love power, constantly push for perfection, and don’t listen to those around you. You are everything about my mother I have come to fear.” 

The wind steals the air from their lungs, and she looks down at the horrible dawn of realization that Kahili is fighting. The tips of Lillie’s fingers are on fire. 

“The fear makes me angry, and it makes me want to reach for my own power.” 

And then the dark clouds are dissipating, and her body returns to the ground, electricity no longer dancing along her skin. “Power comes in different forms. Yours is something hateful against the world, but I choose to love this world, to remain gentle, to strive for kindness. I know that can make me meek, but I would rather that than hurt people the way my mother has.” 

When Lillie opens her eyes, they’re back to their usual green, the wind dying as her smile returns to her face, small and warm and every bit as loud as her voice once was. 

“Don’t mock my liberation because it looks different from yours.” She turns from Kahili’s stunned face, eyes scanning the crowd of witches until she lands on the one person who has been listening to her since the beginning of the night. “Mina?” 

She’s smiling wide, the pride and awe clear in her eyes. “Yeah dude?” 

“I’m ready to dip.” 

They walk out, side by side, to the shocked faces of the members of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine. As they enter the cave and begin their long walk back to the other side, Lillie can’t help but feel satisfied as her steps echo around her. 

No, she isn’t leaving with the flutes, but she’s leaving with her integrity, and she’s decided that’s just as important to her. She doesn’t want power if it means losing the soul she’s been so carefully guarding and building up to live in freedom after all those years of being destroyed. 

“Hey Lillie?” Mina’s voice is small in the dim space, but when she turns to grin at her, it’s twice as radiant as the orbs of light they’ve cast. “That was dope.” 

Lillie’s own smile matches hers. “Thank you.” 

They step out onto the small island, only to see that it’s filled by a small group. Hau is the first to spot her, smile wide and almost relieved as he shouts, “There she is!” 

She blinks, steps slowing as she walks towards them with wide eyes. “Wh-what are you all doing here?” 

Before she can get another word out, she’s being pulled into a hug by Hau, giggling when he buries his face in her neck. Sun quickly joins in, hugging her side, and Moon tries to wrap her arms around all of them – the Slayer also sends a threatening glare towards Gladion, who rolls his eyes before begrudgingly joining their group hug. 

They slowly pull away, Moon explaining with a glance towards the cave entrance, “We heard you were seeking out the Coven of the Arcane Feminine.” 

“Sun became paranoid that you were going to leave us,” Gladion adds with a deadpan. 

Sun rolls his eyes. “_You _were the one who suggested we actually come here.” 

“Busted,” Moon snickers, the others joining in the chuckle as the vampire looks down and mutters something under his breath. The Slayer turns back to the witch, giving her a small smile that betrays her adoration. “We support you if you decide to join them, but we also wanted you to know that we love you and would miss you if you did.” 

“Yeah, you’re kind of the smartest person we have on our team.” The others mumble their agreement with Sun, Lillie blushing at the blatant compliment. 

Hau wraps an arm around her shoulders, grinning ear to ear as he nuzzles her cheek with his nose, and though she blushes Lillie leans into the touch. “Not to mention we just like you so much.” 

“She gets it,” Gladion mutters, and Moon elbows him in the ribs to silence his protests. 

And as Lillie looks around, she’s actually not sure why she thought of joining the Coven of the Arcane Feminine in the first place, not when she already has a group of people who love and accept her just the way she is. 

She gives them a wide smile, heart fluttering in her chest as she says, “I couldn’t be expected to leave my family, could I?” 

Hau’s lips part, and he pulls her into another hug, the others quickly joining in with another round of laughter. 

Lillie closes her eyes, feeling completely warm and safe and heard for the first time tonight. 

It’s Sun who breaks the silence, looking around Hau’s body towards the cave, brow raised as he realizes they aren’t alone. “Uhhhhh, who’s your friend?” 

“Hey, I’m Mina.” She gives a wave to the group as they break off from their hug, hands sliding into the pockets of her jeans as she explains, “Was also looking for the cool witches but uh, they’re not as cool as they seem.” 

“Oh! That reminds me.” Lillie turns to the others, smile falling as she realizes she has to be the bearer of bad news and bring down the mood. “I asked about the Sun and Moon Flutes, but...” 

Soft footsteps sound off from the cave, and they turn to see another witch stepping out. Kahili bites her lip, an old wooden box in her hands as she avoids eye contact. As the others exchange confused glances, Mina and Lillie step towards her, equally surprised as the coven leader takes a deep breath. 

“Lillie, I...” Their eyes meet, and the regret is clear in Kahili’s gaze as her grip tightens on the box. “May I have a moment of your time before you go?” 

She takes in the witch’s hunched shoulders and apologetic face, and then Lillie nods, signaling for her to go on. 

Kahili sighs. “I want to apologize. I realize how unfairly I’ve treated you, and how unfairly I’ve treated a lot of my coven sisters.” Her eyes flicker to the box in her hand, long and engraved with a snake twisted into the Venus symbol. She holds it up a hair higher for inspection as she adds, “But I didn’t just come to apologize. In light of our past passivity, I want to start a new era for the Coven of the Arcane Feminine, beginning with a trade.” 

The box opens, revealing two glass flutes resting on silk, one a blend of the bright orange hues of a sunset, the other a mix of the soft blues of dusk. 

“We will take Shauntal off your hands to dismantle her once and for all if you would be so kind as to take the Sun and Moon Flutes.” 

Lillie gasps, reaching up a hand and stopping herself just before she traces the flutes. She’d seen a sketch of them in Shauntal, but it pales in comparison to the real instruments, which shine in the starlight. The detail work is intricate and delicate, deceptive of their true power. 

“Are you sure?” she asks, so quietly she isn’t even sure if she’s said it out loud. 

Kahili nods, closing the box slowly with a small, hesitant smile. “If something we’ve created can be used to save the world, then that will at least be the start to undoing the damage we have done.” 

After a moment of fumbling, the book and the case trade hands, and Lillie still feels breathless as she holds the flutes, feeling the traces of an ancient magic even through the layers of silk and wood. She looks up at the coven leader, giving her a grateful nod and smile. “Thank you, Kahili.” 

“Hey, I think I’m gonna head back with you.” Mina steps towards Kahili, who blinks with wide eyes as the other witch explains with a shrug and knowing look, “Y’all have your hearts in the right places, but maybe a fresh perspective will help work out the kinks.” 

Despite herself, Kahili laughs, clutching Shauntal tighter to her chest. “Perhaps we could use someone with your chill.” 

They grin at each other, coming to some unspoken understanding before bidding goodbye to Lillie, turning and walking back into the cave. Lillie watches them leave for a moment before her eyes go back to the heavy box in her hands. 

She turns, taking a deep breath as she faces the group. “The first Slayer of Alola used the Sun Flute to banish invaders from the sky. Then the Moon Flute was used to continue the Slayer line.” 

“And we can use them to stop Lusamine,” Sun breathes, realizing just how much closer they’ve gotten. 

The others stare at the box as the moon sinks lower in the sky and they come to terms with what this means. 

Soon, they’ll have to fight Lusamine in a battle where the fate of the world will hang in the balance. 

And they’ve just tipped the scales in their favor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Mina because she can double as your questionable friend and mom friend and it just works  
(for those wondering, those were mints! but she also definitely had something less legal in a different tin in her pocket)
> 
> this is also my favorite Lillie chapter, and it comes with an important plot development in the form of the flutes that we'll get into more later...


	17. shot through the heart

[[♪ Addicted To Love - Florence + the Machine ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1sL5FlOMeI)

From what he can see, Moon’s date is going well. 

Gladion is pretty sure he’s the one who insisted he come keep an eye on things, but considering her last date ended with disbanding a cult, the Slayer didn’t put up much of an argument. At any rate, it didn’t dampen her excitement as they headed over to the restaurant and he set himself up at the bar with a drink that wouldn’t do anything to him and his phone to keep him looking casual, and she sat dressed up at a table, smiling as a young woman walked in and joined her. 

After an hour of things going smoothly, Gladion closed his tab and glanced at their table right as the other woman said something that made Moon laugh, the sound carrying brilliantly and her eyes nearly sparkling in the light. 

So he headed outside for some fresh air feeling...something. 

It’s not jealousy, because that would imply that he thinks they could ever be in a relationship. 

Which is ridiculous, of course, because who’s ever heard of a vampire in a relationship, much less in one with someone biologically chosen to stake vampires? Sure, maybe they’ve been getting along better recently, and they’ve had downright domestic moments while living together, and he’s grown to really respect her. 

But him feeling jealous or attached to her in any way beyond friends? Laughable. 

The whole thing is so laughable (and distracting as he remembers how well that dress fits her) that he doesn’t realize he’s bumping into someone who’s taking a smoke break at the back of the restaurant. 

“Ay, I’m walking here!” The gruff voice practically smacks him across the face, Gladion looking down to see a short, rotund man in a pink suit looking up at him with a frown. 

“Sorry,” he mutters, brushing past him to continue his walk to nowhere in particular as he stews in what is definitely not anything romantically envious. 

But the other man isn’t done with him, turning to watch him stomp off with a raised brow. “What’s got your panties in a twist, bud?” 

“Nothing.” 

“I know jealousy when I see it.” He takes a deep breath as he puts out his cigarette, voice gruff but amused as he chuckles, “They must be really something if you’re this worked up.” 

“I’m not–” Gladion turns with a huff, glaring at this brash guy in a silk suit who won’t let him sulk in peace. He walks back towards him, equal parts offended and intrigued by the guy’s insistence on intervening as he scoffs, “Who are you?” 

“Cupid.” The man holds out his hand, giving the vampire a smarmy wink that somehow feels like it’s covered in grease. “Eros if you’re nasty.” 

He decides not to shake his hand, instead replying, “Gladion. Are you really...?” 

Cupid nods, a wide grin as he lets more of the glow of his divine form show. “The one and only. Nobody better to tell your romance problems to.” 

“I don’t have any.” It comes out suspiciously quick, but Gladion is absolutely not looking to have this conversation right now with a legitimate love god. Besides, there’s no conversation to have, not when she’s looking at someone else like _ that. _

The other man raises a brow, letting out a note of laughter that falls flat. “You in denial or something? Because believe me, I know a guy who’s smitten when I see one.” 

“I’m leaving.” 

And he brushes past Cupid to do just that, because this night is getting incredibly weird and he’s ready for it to end. It’s bad enough he’s feeling strange about Moon’s date, he doesn’t want to have to deal with a god from a foreign pantheon on top of it. 

“Ay don’t walk away from me!” Gladion blinks, forced to a stop as Cupid, now sporting a pair of fluffy white wings, floats right in front of his face, huffing, “Look pal, I’m not letting you walk away from your very own love story here.” 

“There’s no story here, all right?” he snaps, and it’s true. There’s never been a story with him and Moon, and there never will be. 

And that’s...fine. He’s fine with that. 

He _has _to be fine with that. 

But there’s a dangerous glimmer in Cupid’s eyes now, and he lifts his hands, two puffs of pink smoke appearing and then dissipating to reveal a golden bow and a single arrow. 

“Then I’ll make one!” 

As Gladion opens his mouth to protest or question what’s about to happen, the arrow is aimed right for his chest and his head spins as he falls back, the world growing dark as a dull ache spreads throughout his body. 

* * *

Overall, her date went well. Dinner was nice, Moon felt pretty, and her date wasn’t a secret cultist and a great conversationalist, so she should be feeling good. 

But when she glanced towards the bar for the fifteenth time that night and didn’t see Gladion, her stomach sank. 

She’d been quick to ask for the check then, wrapping up their night and promising to text the young woman, a mutual friend of someone’s, when she got home. Rationally, she knows that Gladion is fine; the vampire can take care of himself, and probably just stepped out because he grew bored or saw things were progressing normally and he didn’t need to be lookout anymore. 

Less rationally, he seemed vaguely upset when she glanced over, and the thought that he left while possibly mad at her makes her stomach turn. 

When she steps out of the restaurant, waving her date off, she doesn’t see anyone else, and she walks towards the side of the building, calling out, “Gladiolus? Are you–” 

Her heart stops when she sees him lying on the pavement, alone and unconscious. 

“Gladion!” 

She runs, dropping her bag as she drops to her knees and lifts his head onto her lap, his name falling from her lips in desperate pleas. Gently, she tries to pat his cheek, trying to rouse him as she brushes his hair out of his eyes. 

Finally, his eyes flutter open, and she lets out a breath before the worry bubbles up once more, her hands cradling his face as she dives into her questions. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” 

He blinks, but there’s still a slight fog to his gaze as he looks up at her. She furrows her brows as his face relaxes, a soft, lopsided smile overtaking his lips as he looks up at her with an unflinching adoration. 

His voice is a whisper that brushes just along her ear. “Moon...has anyone told you that you have the prettiest eyes?” 

She gapes, lifting her hands from his face like the touch burns as she feels her brain short-circuit and come to the only possible conclusion as he keeps looking up at her like she’s hung the stars in the sky. 

“You’ve lost your mind.” 

* * *

**From: Moon [21:03]**   
_hey I need your help with something _

**From: Lillie [21:06]**   
_Just me? _

**From: Moon [21:08]**   
_discretion is key_

**From: Moon [21:08]**   
_can you come to my apartment w the grimoire? _

**From: Lillie [21:09]**   
_On my way! (^.^) _

* * *

Lillie isn’t sure what to expect when she knocks on Moon’s door, so when it opens to reveal the Slayer in casual clothes but the remnants of date night makeup and her older brother’s arms wrapped around her, chin on top of her head with a smile on his face, a huge relief washes over the witch. 

“Finally!” 

Gladion sighs, content like that cat who got the cream. “Finally.” 

“Finally?” Moon parrots, and it’s the one key out of note that has Lillie blinking, realizing the other woman looks more than a little annoyed with the situation and entirely confused at Lillie’s reaction. 

Which means whatever this is, it isn’t the long-awaited romantic development that Lillie and the others have been literally betting on. 

“O-oh, so this is...the ‘something,’ then?” Her voice cracks a bit, giving away her surprise and distress as Moon nods. Lillie’s all too quick to change the subject, pulling out the grimoire and walking past the two into the apartment, chirping, “Well, let’s get this solved.” 

Lillie settles herself into the armchair, cracking open the grimoire and beginning to narrow down what Gladion could be afflicted with; clearly, some sort of love magic is involved, although that still leaves a surprising number of possibilities. 

As she searches, Moon awkwardly tries to maneuver towards the couch, though Gladion seems intent on not letting her go from his hug. With a huff, she turns and goes on her tip-toes, whispering something to the vampire and rolling her eyes when his face lights up and he answers with a nod. The compromise they reach seems to be that they’ll instead hold hands, Moon pointedly looking at the floor with a flush on her cheeks as they sit on the couch, Gladion smiling to himself as his thumb rubs circles onto the back of her hand. 

It takes all of Lillie’s self-control to not grin widely at the sight and keep her squealing internal as she continues to thumb through the grimoire. 

After clearing her throat, the witch looks at her older brother, asking simply, “When did you start feeling like this?” 

“After the incident with the Society of the Slain.” 

It’s not the answer she expected at all, considering she had healed Moon on that night a while ago. When she looks over at the Slayer, she seems equally surprised by the answer, although she knows something Lillie doesn’t as her cheeks grow three shades redder. 

Lillie clears her throat, turning her attention to Moon instead. “When did he start acting like this?” 

“About an hour ago. I agreed to have him on backup for my date in case it was another cult thing, and then I walked out and he was unconscious,” she explains simply, ignoring how Gladion squeezes her hand (only for her to squeeze back a moment later). 

With a nod, Lillie turns her attention back to her older brother, keeping her question as clear as possible to get a straight answer out of him. “What happened in between you getting to the restaurant and leaving, Gladion?” 

He thinks for a moment. “I watched Moon’s date. It was going fine and that made me feel weird. I ran into Cupid and he struck me with an arrow and then I woke up in Moon’s arms.” 

Lillie blinks, already flipping the grimoire to the specific page she has in mind. “What was that last part?” 

“About me being jealous or about Cupid?” 

Moon feels her body stiffen, mind going back over all the times she stole a glance at him tonight only to see hunched shoulders and a frown. There’s a strange thrill that runs through her body, something she can’t dare name at the thought that he saw her date and some part of him wanted to switch places. 

But she shakes her head, forcing herself to focus as she asks Lillie, “Being struck by Cupid’s arrow has to be a euphemism, right?” 

“Actually, no.” She turns the grimoire, showing them both the two-page spread on Cupid, including a detailed sketch of the god’s face whenever he takes mortal form, right down to the gel in his hair. “Apparently, he’s not really hidden himself that well over the years, and has a sort of ‘migration pattern’ to go with the weather. Now is when he’d normally be in Alola.” 

The Slayer shifts forward in her seat to get a better look, realizing the movement would pin her and Gladion’s interlaced fingers between their legs, and so she absent-mindedly moves them into her lap. “Any more info on those infamous arrows?” 

“They vary wildly, although it’s clear this one is based on romantic love.” Lillie places the grimoire back on her lap, turning the page and carefully scanning the detailed descriptions of the various arrows that have been recorded to be in Cupid’s arsenal. 

Moon hums, thumb tracing Gladion’s knuckles in her lap – the vampire certainly isn’t complaining. “What about a cure?” 

“It’s impossible to say without knowing which arrow exactly he was struck by,” Lillie sighs, shaking her head as she looks back up at the pair. It’s a little surprising how normal the sight of them sitting so close together and holding hands feels now, but that’s something to gush about later with Hau. “Our best bet is to track down Cupid once more and get the answer from him.” 

“Awesome, let’s go,” Moon mumbles, looking more than ready to get this over with, a confident smile on her face. 

Lillie nods. “We should get the others.” 

“No.” And with just a few words, Moon’s smile is replaced with an anxious, pale face as she mutters, “Lillie, please, no.” 

Gladion furrows his brows, taking in her reluctance with a frown. “Are you embarrassed of me?” 

She turns to look at him, guilt twisting her stomach as her fingers fidget in his grasp and she looks between him and his sister, trying to soothe him without revealing too much of her hand. “That’s not...” 

“I can do less.” It’s quick and adamant as he faces her and squeezes her hand, voice so earnest that all she can do is blink and try not to flush under his gaze. His eyes travel to their interlocked hands still on her lap, considering it for a moment before adding sheepishly, “I can try. Do you want me to do less? Can I still hold your hand?” 

“I-I mean, if you want.” Her head is spinning under his attentive gaze, and she can feel Lillie’s eyes, and her own thoughts are racing and refusing to connect except for one: she just really likes how large and cool his hands are. 

He nods, not entirely unlike an excited puppy as he holds up their joined hands. “I want to. I really want to. Your hands are warm, and soft, and–” 

“You were saying, Lillie?” Moon snaps, her head whipping towards the witch as she feels heat crawling up her neck. 

Lillie bites back a giggle, closing the grimoire. “If Cupid is here, we won’t be the only ones looking for him. It’s entirely possible it may come down to a fight, and it’d be best to have our little group.” 

“Fine.” 

While they’ve been talking, Gladion has instead elected to focus on holding Moon’s hand, bringing it closer to his face and loosening his grip just enough to place his lips against her wrist, feeling her pulse jump. 

“I like when you wear this perfume.” 

Moon knows he’s not in his right mind, that she should take everything he’s saying with not just a grain of salt but the entire salt shaker, but still her stomach swoops at the combination of his words and the feeling of soft lips on her inner wrist. She feels feverish, suddenly, her throat going dry as she locks eyes with him and swears his gaze is burning into her. 

Lillie decides now is an excellent time to take her leave, quickly tucking the grimoire under her arm and scurrying towards the front door as she mumbles, “I’m going to go text the others.” 

And she doesn’t glance back, but just before she closes the front door behind her she can hear Moon whisper her brother’s name, tone dancing between a warning and a plea that has the witch secondhand blushing. 

* * *

**From: Lillie [21:47]**   
_We need to discuss the parameters of our betting pool _

**From: Sun [21:49]**   
_??? _

**From: ****Hau**** [21:50]**   
_What happened??? _

**From: Lillie [21:51]**   
_If there have been developments, but they’ve been caused by _  
_magic...do they count? _

**From: Sun [21:53]**   
_omfg _

**From: Sun [21:53]**   
_I mean no, they don’t count but omfg WHAT _

**From: Lillie [21:5****4****]**   
_Then the bet continues! _

**From: Lillie [21:5****5****]**   
_And I have some news about Gladion_

* * *

_ People always ask me, “Cupid, how can I get my undead lover going when they don’t even have a heartbeat?” _

_ And even if you aren’t the god of romantic love, you’ve still got options galore! If you’re dealing with a vampire, get your hands on some Slayer blood, a little-known aphrodisiac to the bloodsuckers. _

** _ Painted Blind: The Life of a Love God, Chapter 18 _ **

* * *

About five minutes into the walk back to the restaurant, Moon is regretting everything as she grits through clenched teeth, “Stop. Laughing.” 

“I’m not laughing. This is very serious.” Sun’s grin widens, his eyes going down to the hand of his sister’s that’s currently holding another, and then to the vampire who’s been happily trailing behind her, holding her hand with a smile. His voice very nearly dips into a chuckle. “Right, Gladion?” 

Gladion blinks, looking down at Moon as he asks simply, “Do you want me to make him stop laughing?” 

Sun pales, realizing that whatever daze Cupid’s arrow has caused fails to negate Gladion’s vampire status and probably his already existing annoyance with the human. He may have his nail-bat on him in case of a fight, but he gets the feeling he’s still a little outmatched. Moon smirks, delighting in watching her brother squirm as she hums in thought, giving Gladion’s hand a squeeze as they walk. 

“Tempting. I’ll let you know.” 

Deciding he’d much rather change the subject than possibly get his ass kicked, Sun turns to Lillie and Hau as Melemele’s only Greek restaurant comes into view. “How do we know if Cupid’s still here?” 

“We don’t.” Hau frowns, the first to spot a small crowd of vampires in matching sweats as he mutters, “But it looks like these guys might.” 

Their group slows, but it’s too late for the element of surprise as the Skulls sense their presence. Two grunts are holding a short man in a pink suit as he squirms and snaps at them, three others nearby watching. 

The real problem comes when the tallest of them turns, his shock of white hair swaying in the breeze as he sizes up the approaching group with a manic smile. Moon’s stomach drops to her feet when Guzma laughs, and she steels her nerves, blocking out memories of their last fight. 

“Well if it ain’t just who I wanted to see – you up for a rematch, Slayer?” he laughs, and he holds up his left arm for inspection, their group watching in horror as it takes on a blue shade, beginning to drip with something viscous and unidentifiable. 

When he takes a step towards Moon, Gladion subtly shifts his body in front of hers, staring down the other vampire as black veins begin to appear on his face. Guzma blinks, amused but clearly confused at the downright protective display. “What’s up with you, Gladbag?” 

Cupid pauses in his struggle against the two grunts, glancing over and his eyes widening in recognition. “Hey, you’s the guy I struck earlier.” 

“Oh?” Guzma looks between the love god and Gladion, the realization crawling onto his face in the form of a wide smirk as he crouches. “_Oh. _Well that’s just precious. Tell you what, it’s so damn cute, it makes me wanna take out both of you.” 

Behind him, the three unoccupied grunts step up, and with a quick look at each other, Lillie, Hau, and Sun wordlessly dash forward, quick to distract the vampires as they fire off a series of spells and come in swinging with the nail-bat. 

Which leaves Guzma to lunge forward, Moon stepping back as she pulls out her stake and Gladion avoiding the attack, careful of the blue arm as he ducks and steps forward, effectively placing the Skull leader in between him and the Slayer. Seeing her opportunity, Moon is quick to jump and warp her arms around Guzma’s neck in a chokehold, forcing the vampire to bend backwards and struggle against her grip. 

She tosses the stake, Gladion quick to catch her drift and the piece of wood, going in for a stab at Guzma’s chest. However, Guzma manages to just catch it with his left hand, and the two fighting him watch in horrified fascination as the blue liquid drips onto the wood and melts it like an acid, Gladion quick to drop it before it reaches his hand. 

With a jerk of his head back, Guzma clocks Moon in the forehead, forcing her to let go of him as she stumbles back, her head lighting up in pain. Gladion bristles at the sight, making another lunge for Guzma only to be grabbed by the neck by the infected arm, feeling his entire body seize up as Guzma lifts him up and squeezes. 

Gladion’s body goes sailing through the air, landing on pavement a few yards away as he tries to stand despite the poison spreading from his throat. Moon feels her chest clench at the sight, shouting, “Gladion!” 

“Aw, did I upset you?” Guzma turns to her, taking a few steps forward as he cackles, voice pitched to a condescending whine, “You gonna cry for your little boyfriend?” 

She doesn’t. 

Instead, she delivers an uppercut so sharply to Guzma’s jaw that she hears something in his face crack at the force. 

He blinks, massaging his jaw as he tries to recover from the shock of the Slayer’s renewed strength – he may have gotten an upgrade, but she’s been training since they last fought and it shows. 

“I don’t cry over boys.” She grabs the front of his shirt with both hands, taking advantage of his stupor as she growls, “I just break their faces.” Then she’s dragging him closer to the building, sidestepping Hau as he knocks out another grunt with a self-contained earthquake. Moon slams Guzma into the back of the restaurant, face-first, uncaring if the staff inside are alerted as the impact leaves a dent in the wall. 

Guzma peels himself off, turning to look at her as a cut on his eyebrow drips black liquid and his smile grows wider. “Now we’re talking.” 

With a growl and his face shifting, he goes in for a jab with his poisonous hand, but Moon ducks and delivers a spin kick to his side. She’s unable to sidestep in time to avoid his counter, though, as he grabs her forearm with his blue hand. It’s the same poison she felt when the Nihilego attacked her, she realizes, which means she knows what pain to expect, so she can grit her teeth and bear it long enough to snap, “Neat party trick, wanna see mine?” 

She twirls her arm, nearly breaking his wrist in the process, Guzma howling as he’s forced to let go of her and nurse his wrist, his arm slowly going back to its original shade as Moon feels the full effect of the toxins beginning to hit her body. It takes nearly all her strength but she can remain standing, though not much else as her nerves shake and her muscles seize. 

The vampire grins at the sight, shaking out his wrist as he steps towards her. “Just give it up, lil Slayer. No one can save you.” 

But he’s miscalculated, become so focused on taking her out that he has tunnel vision (and no doubt he’s a little too used to Slayers who work alone). A figure off to the right moves, and Moon smirks, jerking her chin in that direction. 

“What about him?” 

Before he even opens his mouth to respond, Guzma is being tackled by Gladion, who’s fully recovered from the Nihilego toxin and is just about ready to kill the other vampire. He pins Guzma to the ground, managing to deliver several blows to his head before the older vampire throws him off. As Gladion watches him struggle to sit up, Moon joins him, leaning against his side as she feels the poison slowly leaving her body. 

Guzma turns his head to spit on the ground, looking like he’s running some quick math about his odds. The calculations stop when his eyes widen, watching as all five of his grunts run past him and back into the woods, carrying each other and shouting incoherently. With a growl, he takes in the group before him and turns, bolting right along with his grunts, tail between his legs. 

Moon lets out a sigh, thankful that the fight is over until she remembers something, turning to look up at Gladion. Red lines mar his neck, a cross between a choke and jellyfish sting. She lifts her hands, carefully tracing them as her brows furrow. Her whisper is quiet, coated in concern as she asks, “Are you okay?” 

He holds her wrists gently, stopping her ministrations as he takes in the bruise on her forehead and angry red mark on her forearm. “Are you?” 

She laughs softly to herself, unable to stop the small smile overtaking her face as she looks up at him. It’s still so odd to have someone fret over her, to welcome someone’s worry, especially when he’s just as injured, if not more so. Still, a warmth spreads in her chest as he cautiously returns her smile, hands gently moving up and down her arms, careful of the burn left behind by the poison. 

She reminds herself that he’s under the arrow’s spell, that this doesn’t really mean anything. 

But it feels nice, feels like the closest she’s gotten to love in a long time. 

“Hey can you guys stop undressing each other with your eyes for a second?” 

And just like that, Sun’s voice cuts through the moment, his sister dropping her hands from Gladion’s neck and turning to give him a scowl – the whole effect is undercut by the blush on her cheeks. The vampire is equally annoyed at the interruption, but he settles for taking one of her hands in his as they walk over to the rest of the group, Lillie giving Cupid a cursory check-up on some of the bruises on the love god’s wrists from being manhandled by Skulls. 

“What did they want from you?” the witch asks, the question drifting between concern and curiosity as she stands up straighter, finished with her healing spells. 

Cupid shrugs, sighing as he runs a hand through his slicked back hair. “Nothing I could give, really. They were hoping to throw things in disarray, something about making the Slayer act like an idiot, but none of my arrows are really that powerful or conjure feelings from nothing.” 

“So what’s the cure for this?” Moon sighs, holding up the hand that’s intertwined with Gladion’s, the vampire blinking and seemingly none the wiser as he continues smiling at the Slayer. 

The god’s lips curl into an impish smirk, looking between the two. “I don’t know if I should tell you...” 

In a blur of movement, Moon drops Gladion’s hand and lunges forward, grabbing Cupid by the lapels and pulling him up to her face, his feet dangling in the air as all of her frustration from tonight boils over the surface. She’s come too far and had to endure an emotional rollercoaster for far too long to be teased right now, and so she growls, “Tell me the cure right now or I’m shoving a diaper so far up your ass you’ll _ never _be potty-trained.” 

“Jeez Louise, he really knows how to pick ‘em.” He clears his throat, holding his hands up in surrender as he pales at the fury painted on the Slayer’s face. “All right, all right – you just gotta give him an honest answer.” 

Her shoulders drop slightly, and she lowers him to the ground, letting go of his jacket as she blinks. “What?” 

Cupid nods, brushing himself off and readjusting his suit. “Yeah, it ain’t anything creepy. Tell him how you feel. If you’re not into it, say so and the spell drops. If you are, the spell still drops, but...bada bing, bada boom.” 

“That’s it? No trick answers, no magic words?” The others are equally suspicious, and maybe a little put-out that they had to come out and endure a fight with Skulls just to be told the solution is as simple as a thirty second conversation. 

But Cupid shrugs, chuckling, “Just some good old-fashioned communication, baby.” 

Moon bites her lip, considering talking about her feelings rather than bottling them up until she dies. 

“...are you sure there’s nothing else I can do?” 

“You two are hopeless,” the love god sighs, looking absolutely defeated. 

_ “We know.” _

The unanimous answer from Lillie, Hau, and Sun has Moon whipping her head around to look at them, lips parting when she sees their expressions of varying levels of exasperation. She bites her cheek, sure that she’s blushing now at the blatant callout that picks at a soft part in her heart. 

Cupid senses her hesitation, and gives her a pitying look as he places an arm on her back, leading her a few steps away and forcing her to lean in as he soothes with a whisper, “Listen, it doesn’t have to be with words, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. Just get your point across.” She looks down at him with furrowed brows, but he’s looking to the others, wings sprouting as he gives them all a half-hearted wave. “Now I got to get going since Psyche’s expecting me home, but thanks again for the Helen of Troy treatment.” 

He disappears in a warm glow of pink light, leaving the group in silence at the back of the restaurant, Moon considering his words as she crosses her arms. 

Sun glances between his sister and the still lovesick vampire, a terrible idea sparking his gray eyes. 

“So are you two finally gonna make out or...?” 

“Hey Gladion?” He hums when Moon turns, addressing him with far too sweet a smile. “Make Sun shut up now.” 

The human pales, watching as Gladion turns towards him, and then he doesn’t hesitate to turn and run into the night, hollering half-assed apologies as Moon, Lillie, and Hau laugh at his expense, not bothering to try and help as Gladion walks after him. 

* * *

The truth should be a simple, clear-cut rejection. 

It’s what she’s told nearly everyone in her life, Moon realizes, as she paces in her bedroom, all too aware that Gladion is sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for her. 

Waiting for her to softly say no, explain that they’re just friends, or roommates, or whatever they’ve fallen into at this point. 

But when she tries to frame it in her head, mentally writing out her script, the words don’t sit correctly, can’t quite fit together in a way that feels right. 

Probably because the truth is a lot more complicated than she gives it credit for. 

Moon sighs, leaning her forehead against the wall in defeat as she considers what to say. Looking back on her life, she doesn’t think she’s ever really been in love. She’s had a few relationships, the occasional fling, but they’ve hardly gone past surface level. The longest she’s ever been with someone has been six months, and even then, it felt like she was playing pretend, hiding part of her life that she can’t drag anyone else into. 

Being a Slayer puts a serious crimp on her dating life. 

So the fact that Gladion is the first attractive person who actually knows about the occult happenings she deals with on a daily basis is throwing a wrench into her life plan. 

A life plan that she now realizes, has never actually included a romantic partner. There’s the fact that she pretty much shortened her lifespan when she felt the call of the Slayer, and then the whole idea of a lonely life of fighting dark forces was drilled into her by the Council and her first Watcher and even other Slayers. Slayers work alone, Slayers make sacrifices, and Slayers don’t put anyone else in danger with messy things like feelings. 

Is it selfish of her to fall in love, to think that she can honestly put someone through the burden of her life? 

The whole thing leaves a sour taste in her mouth, and has her opening her bedroom door and stepping out into the living room, intent on her rejection. She can’t put anyone through the dread of loving her, least of all the most selfless person she’s ever met. Gladion would give his life for the person he loves, if the way he fought under the spell is any indication. 

Besides, this all assumes Gladion has any interest in her, and judging from the snide remarks and missed opportunities, he doesn’t. He can’t. If he did, that would make this all the more real, all the more possible, and– 

She clears her throat, standing in front of the couch and trying not to budge on her stance as he looks up at her in awe, like she’s someone precious and valuable and worthy. 

“The truth is...” Her tongue feels too large for her mouth, and she takes a deep breath, willing the words to come out. “Look...you have a symmetrical face and an interesting world view, but the timing and...” 

It’s impossible; how can anyone speak when someone is looking at them like they’re the eighth wonder of the world? 

_ “Listen, it doesn’t have to be with words, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. Just get your point across.” _

Gladion opens his mouth, brows furrowing, but then she takes a step forward before she can think better of it, muttering, “Fuck it.” 

She leans in, slow and breath hitching as her hands go to his shoulders. Her lips press against his, eyes closing as she drowns in his scent, iron and musk and something surprisingly citrus. He’s frozen for a minute, surprise getting caught in his throat in the form of a noise that she could get drunk on. 

It’s the truth all wrapped up in her warm lips sliding gently against his, in how her fingers travel up his neck and tangle into his hair, but don’t dare pull. 

_ I want you. _

_ I want you but I’m scared. _

Maybe seconds have passed, maybe hours or years or lifetimes, and she’s right on the edge of pulling away from him but she just_ can’t. _Any moment the arrow’s spell will be broken, and he’ll come to his senses, and this will just become something else to hold over her head, a moment of vulnerability to regret. 

The air shifts and she’s pulling away, preparing for the snide remark, the safe distance, the gentle teasing that has always come with the caveat that none of it will amount to anything. 

She holds her breath, not daring to open her eyes. 

And then his hands are around her waist and pulling her down, her body flush to his as he all but devours her. 

His teeth nip at her bottom lip, pulling a needy whine from the back of her throat. He’s kissing her back like a wildfire, like he can’t get enough, and his hands are traveling along her body like he can’t decide what part of her he wants to touch more. They’re cold and calloused and she wants more, he wants more, inching his way under her shirt. 

Now she tugs on his hair, drinking in the desperate sound he makes in response, and it takes all she has to not move her hips against his, to not turn this into something they can’t walk away from, can’t plausibly deny. 

He kisses her like he’s been waiting to answer her his entire life. 

_ I want you but I’m scared but god, do I want you. _

They break, panting, staring into each other’s eyes and seeing something dark and hungry and insatiable that they’ve been trying to feed scraps for months now – they didn’t realize how starved it was. 

She clears her throat weakly, hands slowly dropping from his hair. 

“Snapped out of it?” 

He swallows, doesn’t miss how her eyes trace the bob of his throat. His voice is absolutely ragged, wrecked when he mutters, “Yeah I snapped out of it.” 

His hands slide back out from under her shirt, and her hips carefully slide away from his. She stands on weak knees, not meeting his eyes but feeling the chill of his gaze travel down her spine. “Do you remember anything?” 

_ I remember holding your hand all night. I remember watching you fight and being awed by your power. __I remember looking at you and thinking you could be my demise and I would only love you more for it.__ I remember the sounds I pulled from you just now, the feeling of your thighs in my hands, the need to hear you say my name as I– _

“No.” 

It steals her breath for a moment, and her face shifts, the wall slowly going back up. “Probably for the best,” she hums, but not quite like she finds it funny, or even sad – almost, instead, like it’s to be expected. She’ll go back to the reality of life as a Slayer, and they’ll go back to the limbo they’ve built for themselves. 

But when she looks at him, there’s no going back. 

She mumbles, tongue heavy in her mouth and lips swollen, “Good night, Gladion.” 

He says nothing but he watches every step as she walks into her bedroom, digs his nails into his palms to keep from pulling her back against him. 

Gladion had meant to get everything out of his system with that kiss. A sort of goodbye to the what-if of them, a moment of indulgence before he reminds himself that a Slayer and a vampire make a laughable pair. 

When her bedroom door shuts, though, he’s not laughing. 

_ I want you. _

He swears there’s a phantom heartbeat in his chest, that no matter how he closes his eyes and wills the images of her writhing on top of him away, they only grow more vivid and make nonexistent blood run hot and quick. 

He swears he was human in the moments when she kissed him. 

_ I want you I want you I want you. _

He thinks, maybe, Cupid was onto something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ew cooties


	18. plumeria blooms at night

[[♪ Paper Bag - Fiona Apple ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK30r_SIZ-g)

_ She’s been running for hours, deep into the forests of Ula’ula and away from the life-altering decision forced on her. _

_ Though when one of the options is to die, it’s not much of a decision at all. _

_ Her lungs don’t burn and her muscles don’t ache, but her throat, god, her throat is killing her. There’s a fire in her, one she can’t put out no matter how she runs, one that calls for something red and iron and flowing from a limb. She licks her lips, licks the remnants of her first meal, and shivers, dropping to her knees as she remembers the truth of her thirst, of the hunger. _

_ Plumeria has just killed someone, because Plumeria has just been turned into the very monster she has been training all her life to destroy. _

_ She crawls into the hollow of an ancient oak, entire body shaking as she hugs her knees to her chest and tries to steady her breathing – she doesn’t need to breathe anymore, doesn’t need to do anything except feed, except satiate this awful hunger. _

_ Soon enough, the Council will find out. The others will hear, will tut and tsk and think what a shame that instead of an honorable death she chose the coward’s path, chose to turn her back on the teachings of the Slayers. _

_ And then they’ll come and try to kill her, just like all the other monsters they hunt. _

_ But she can’t think on that betrayal, on how easy it is to turn what she once thought of as her only family against her. Instead, her mind is focused on the hunger, on the last taste of iron on her lips that only ignites a primal need. Her dress is torn and bloodied and she very nearly tears it all to shreds, unable to stand the oppressive, heavy fabric, how it clings to her skin and makes her feverish. _

_ Footsteps approach, and she scurries further into the hollow, eyes wide and glowing with instinctual fear as she shouts, her voice raw and scratching her throat, “S-stay away from me!” _

_ “I ain’t going to hurt you.” It’s a gruff voice, not especially comforting, and a moment later it’s accompanied by a face with dark circles under the eyes and a shock of white hair. He grins at her, crouching and completely unbecoming in his haphazard suit. _

_ She shakes her head, because she’s clinging to the last shreds of her humanity even though her soul has been ripped from her, leaving an aching burn in her chest. “But I’ll hurt you.” _

_ “You sure could try.” His smile widens, canine flashing and becoming fang as her senses are overloaded again and she clutches at her head, body still not used to all the sights and smells and sounds that are now so bright and vivid. Vampire, she thinks, she knows, and she has half a mind to posture, to pretend she’s still the Slayer she once was, but he’s seen the blood around her mouth and knows her secret, and he only soothes, “Look, I can see that you’ve just been sired. You’re probably feeling scared, confused, right?” _

_ “What do you want from me?” she snaps, because she knows vampires. She’s killed vampires, and this one has a reputation as she puts together the hair and grin and height. Guzma, destroyer of Slayers, rumored to be building an unruly coven and to be as merciless as they come. She’s never faced him, but she’s heard all the warnings, all the stories of a vampire that will not hesitate to destroy. _

_ But he shakes his head gently, reaching a hand out into the hollow of the tree. “Nothing. But I have a place you can stay, and I can help you feed. You’re hungry, ain’t you?” _

_ Her eyes sting and her withered stomach turns, and she realizes she hasn’t cried once. Not when she was being slashed at, not when she was being bitten, not when she was begging for her life. _

_ Now, though, with the first sign of genuine kindness, with the first man who’s actually asking her what she wants, who’s putting her needs above his wants, she crumbles. The sobs are heavy and torturous, ripping through her body as she crawls forward. She is all id now, and that id is demanding comfort for once in her life. _

_ And he kneels with open arms, letting her weep in his embrace, burying her face in his chest as her entire body shakes with the fire of an undead life. _

_ “The hunger hurts.” _

_ He runs a hand down her long hair, gentle, so gentle for someone she’s been told is a beast, and he purrs right into her ear, “Then let’s take care of it.” _

_ They stand, and he’s running his hands up and down her arms as she gazes at him with wide eyes, head still spinning from the transformation and chest still aching from her missing soul. She shakes her head, disbelieving, hands clenching and unclenching in fists as she reconciles what a vampire is with the man standing before her. _

_ “Why are you doing this?” _

_ He grins, not unkindly, but unhinged all the same, and now she sees the glimpse of danger. “Monsters have to look out for each other.” His hands, calloused and rough, wipe at her cheeks, and he looks straight through her. _

_ “And there’s something special about you. I can just tell.” _

_ He leads her through the forest and the guilt that night, and in the morning, when she sets her mind to letting the sun burn her, he wakes up and asks if she’s hungry, ask if she’s all right, and she decides to stay for a little longer. _

* * *

Plumeria has stopped keeping track of their fights since Lusamine entered their lives. 

She huffs, head in her hands as she sits in the torn-up armchair of her and Guzma’s room (and at this point it’s mostly his room, considering how many days she elected to take a random bed instead). “Poison. She injects your DNA with extraterrestrial poison, and you thank her for it.” 

“The hell do you want from me, Plumeria? What do you have against me getting more powerful?” he spits, slamming his fist against the wall and leaving a dent. She doesn’t flinch, too used to his anger, though he used to never raise his voice with her. 

“Nothing, but not like this.” 

“And why not?” 

Her voice is nearly desperate as she stands, eyes flashing in anger and frustration as she shouts at him, “Because she’s gonna get you killed!” 

“She’s not the one treating me like a child!” he roars back, stepping closer to her. 

“She is, but you’re too blind to see it.” She crosses her arms, nails digging into her biceps as she tries not to throttle him, tries to be patient for him even though every one of her nerves is screaming to attack. 

This was easier with a soul, though she barely remembers those days. 

He scoffs, rolling his eyes and throwing his arms up in defeat. “But you’re not. What, you got some magic vision now?” 

It’s so much closer to the truth than he realizes, reigniting her frustrations at having the prophetic dreams but being unable to tell him; there’s so much she’s unable to tell him, and she’s dug herself so far in that she can’t turn back. Instead, she settles on turning for the door, more than ready for this conversation to be over before they both say something they’ll regret. “Piss off, Guzma.” 

But he isn’t done, and he’s had decades to find out just what buttons of hers to press as he follows after her, annoyed and condescending as he rants, “No c’mon, what else do you know that I don’t? What secrets you hoarding from me because you’re just so much smarter?” 

She turns on him, fangs bared, and shouts the first thing that rises from the pit of anger in her stomach. 

“Well I know they have the key!” 

The silence roars in her ears as Guzma’s jaw drops along with her no longer beating heart. 

_ Shit. _

He’s too quiet for too long, but then his face starts contorting with the gravity of what she’s said into something absolutely furious. “What?” 

“Forget it, I don’t–” 

“You knew they had the key? How long?” 

She’s silent, refusing to budge as she keeps her eyes on the ground. Her mind drifts back to that day, to that moment when she saw the tiny Ultra Beast escape from the witch’s bag and decided to keep her mouth shut about it. Who knows what Lusamine would do with that information, what she’d do to Guzma if he came to her with it – another upgrade, no doubt, another mysterious surgery that leaves him more and more dependent on her, blinded to what she’s really doing to him. 

His eyes flash red, and she holds herself tighter as he steps closer. “Plumeria, you were supposed to tell me the second you ever saw it. How long have you been hiding this from me?” 

Her back hits the door, and she’s shaking her head, mind spinning with the secrets and the anger that have built up between them. It feels like they can’t see each other anymore, and there’s a lump in her throat that’s blocking her voice. Before, he would see her like this, see her starting to shake, and lighten up, give them both the space to cool off. 

Now he lunges forward, right arm turning into a pincer and goes right for her neck as his voice shakes her entire body. 

_ “H O W L O N G?” _

She’s pinned to the door with wide eyes, her hands flying to the pincer squeezing around her throat as she gasps out, “Y-you’re hurting me.” 

His grip tightens, and her chest clenches at the realization that the one person she trusted with her life is willing to snuff it out. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes, instincts kicking in as she squirms in his grip and tries desperately to pry the pincer off her neck. 

“Let go. Guzma, let go!” 

He does and steps back, hand transforming back to normal, and she looks up at him like a deer staring down the barrel of a gun. 

She’s never been afraid of him before. 

But he’s still seeing red, still roaring and spitting and looking for a misguided fight that’s been injected into him by someone else. “What the hell’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because I don’t trust you anymore.” 

It snaps him out of it for a moment, her words heavy in the air as she massages her neck and he stares at her. Some part of him realizes the extent of what he’s done, some part of him is softening his face as he realizes that Plumeria is trying not to cry. 

There’s a commotion behind her, muffled by the walls, but they both turn to listen to the grunts yelling in Shady House. They catch the words “Slayer” and “caught,” and she knows that he’s gone again, that his one-track mind is dooming him to see this through instead. 

He brushes past her, his shoulder shoving her aside as he opens the door, fixing her with a final glare. “We’re not done here.” 

And when the door slams shut behind him, she swallows the lump in her throat and stands there with her revelation. 

“No, we are.” 

* * *

_ I do not fear death, but I do fear what may happen after I die. Will others remember me fondly and tell stories of my exploits? Will they cast shame upon my name, chanting my weaknesses? _

_ Will they remember me at all? _

** _ Excerpt from a diary of an unidentified Slayer _ **

* * *

In hindsight, they really should have known that their group isn’t the type who can pull off a covert operation to land a sneak attack on the Skulls and find more of Lusamine’s plan. 

Moon swears under her breath as she punches another grunt, sending him straight into Gladion, who’s ready to toss them halfway across Po Town as they approach the gate. Lillie manages to pry open the main gate with a spell, Hau lending her cover as he brings thornbushes to life to throttle any approaching vampires. Sun has been swinging his nail-bat wildly, leading the charge as they run through the gate opening and into the surrounding woods. 

He pants, forcing his legs to keep going as he stumbles over tree roots, throwing a glance back at the others. “Okay, I’m going to say it – this was a stupid plan.” 

Gladion frowns, easily keeping up the pace as they continue on the dirt path towards Malie City. “It was _ your _plan.” 

“So you all should have known better.” 

“If we just make it to Malie City, they can’t attack,” Hau shouts, the confidence clear in his voice. They’re in a forest, after all, and the few grunts who have managed to keep pace with them are easy enough for him to throw off with a few well-placed ground movements or weeds growing and tugging on ankles. 

They’re nearly out of the woods when Moon spots a figure off to the side, running along with them and about to catch up. Flashes of pink and yellow move between the trees, and the Slayer finds her feet stopping of her own accord, grip on her stake loosening as she digs her heels into the dirt. 

Lillie turns, the first to realize that the other woman has stopped running, and she slows her sprint as she calls out in confusion, “Moon?” 

The others stop, too, Gladion already walking back towards her as she shakes her head. “Keep going, I’ll throw her off and catch up.” 

“I’m not leaving you,” he mumbles, his stubborn streak on full display as he stops at her side. 

The way he looks at her sends a pleasant warmth crawling up her neck and makes her unsure if he’s talking about now or forever. 

She gives him a lopsided smile, her arm going to his shoulder and giving it a squeeze as she whispers back, with just as much conviction, “Trust me.” 

He hesitates a moment longer, but then he’s nodding, giving her a look that she can’t decipher before turning and running back to the others, the group still unsure but continuing on. 

Which leaves her alone with Plumeria as she steps out of the trees, the vampire giving her a chuckle that feels off somehow, less amused or predatory and more cynical. 

“How noble, just like a good little Slayer should be.” 

But she doesn’t make a move to attack, and neither does Moon. Instead, they look at each other for a moment, Moon feeling that ache in her chest come back as she replies, “What about you? You’re still a Slayer.” 

It’s the wrong thing to say, ends up striking Plumeria worse than the stake would have, digging deep into her chest and hitting a nerve that she’s kept hidden but fresh for a century. 

“And what a fucking delight that was!” Her laugh is absolutely empty, her lips curling with disgust as her body shakes with rage. “To have to fight against the forces of darkness by myself. To have a Watcher and the Council telling me my every wrong move. To have been dropped the second I got bit, left to my own devices, scared and alone!” 

Moon watches her intently, keeping her voice even and sure. “It doesn’t have to be that way.” 

She’s right, and Plumeria knows it, has seen it. The Slayer has her ragtag group with her at all times, has never complained about her Watcher, has a sort of excited energy about her title that Plumeria has never felt. 

When she felt the call, she knew it was a death sentence. 

Moon seems to have turned it into a call for life. 

If she wanted, she could take the girl up on the offer. It’s not like she has anything left for her at Po Town. 

But there’s also a lot she’s already done, and though she can’t feel guilty about it without a soul, it doesn’t stop the thoughts, the memories of the hand she played in the death of two other Slayers, the people she’s drained, the years she’s spent hiding behind her status as a monster to excuse the drop of her moral code. 

“I’ve made my decision,” she mumbles, and she turns, ready to end another conversation today. 

When Moon calls out, it’s so quiet that the vampire thinks for a moment she might have imagined it, but the words wrap tightly around her shoulders and force her to freeze. 

“Is this how you want to be remembered?” 

Plumeria looks at her over her shoulder, and it’s the first time she’s smiled tonight but it’s drowned in melancholy, in something she’s accepted since her life became a secret that wasn’t even her own. 

“Will they remember me at all?” 

The answer is quick, unflinchingly earnest. “I will.” Moon keeps looking at her, not quite warm but hopeful all the same, and Plumeria’s lips part. “But will you let me remember you as the Slayer who still fought for a better world, no matter if she had a soul or what some stuffy Council said?” 

They stand in silence a moment longer, and then Plumeria is turning, heading off in a direction perpendicular to Po Town. 

“I'll let you know.” 

She can feel the Slayer’s eyes on her back, even long after she’s disappeared into the woods, the only sounds around her being a few owls and the crunch of dried leaves under her feet. It’s quiet enough that old words replay in her head, like he’s right here next to her, holding her again and guiding her out of the forest when she was terrified out of her mind. 

_ “And there’s something special about you. I can just tell.” _

Maybe he was lying to her then. Maybe he’s never believed in her, and this has all been some elaborate lie, a strange trick pulled by a monster. 

But she knew him, then, stood by the decisions he made when he took in the unwanted, the lonely, the hungry. 

She doesn’t know who he is – hell, she doesn’t know who _ she _is anymore, either. 

It’s time she relearns that. 

It’s time she faces the hunger and lets it hurt. 

* * *

Guzma sits on the front steps of Shady House, uncaring of the chaos around him as his grunts clean up their wounds and generally avoid him. He’s well aware of the fury rolling off him in waves, eyes trained on their now destroyed main entrance. 

A few minutes later, a group of four grunts walks through, arguing with each other for a moment before a tall girl gets shoved forward. She straightens her back and walks towards him, pulling up her bandana and doing her best to keep eye contact without flinching. 

“Well?” 

The snap in his voice has her standing up impossibly straighter, only to slump her shoulders a moment later as she admits, “They got away.” 

“Of course,” he scoffs, not at all surprised, irritation evident in his brows. There’s a more pressing matter, though, one that’s had him wringing his hands on the steps after twenty minutes of his own searching. “And where the hell is Plumeria?” 

The grunt in front of him blinks, looking back over at the others, who shake their heads. “W-we don’t know.” 

His voice drops, growing quieter with an eerie calm. “What?” 

“She hasn’t come back.” 

But she has to come back. She’s stormed off before and she always comes back. 

He stands, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turns to head back into Shady House. “Get out of here and find her.” 

His stomping echoes down the hallways, vampires quick to get out of his way or hide completely from his wraith as he climbs the stairs and shuts the door to his room behind him. The slam fills the air around him, fills all of Po Town, and then it’s quiet and empty. 

Everything is empty. 

She has to come back. 

* * *

_ Guzma decides that 1953 has been a good year for the Skulls, and it’s in no small part thanks to Plumeria. She was the one who set her sights on Po Town, who led the charge to clear out the neighborhood development and claim it for themselves, leaving their mark and creating their own haven. _

_ He watches from the front porch of the mansion in the back, their new head of operations, as grunts scurry around him. Plumeria stands in the middle of it all, looking over blueprints for the wall and listening intently as one of the older Skull members explains their progress on it. With a satisfied nod, she says something else and then she’s turning, catching Guzma’s eye and giving him a wide grin. _

_ “Hey doll face,” he purrs as she walks up the steps, not bothering to hide his appreciation of how her hips sway. _

_ 1953 has also been a good year because some genius invented these cigarette pants or whatever they’re called, and Plumeria likes the m and Guzma is inclined to agree. _

_ “I ain’t nobody’s doll,” she snaps back, but there’s not much bite and her grin doesn’t budge as she sidles up to him, leaning into his touch as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. _

_ “No, you aren’t.” He knows it well enough, has seen her nearly bite the heads off of guys who look at her the wrong way (literally), and he knows better than to think she’d ever belong to anyone. It’s a choice she makes to let him look at her like this, let him hold her, one he knows she can take back whenever she wants. _

_ With a smirk and flash of something impish in his eyes, he looks down at her, waiting to catch her eye. “But how do you feel about second-in-command?” _

_ Her brows shoot up to her hairline, her chuckle wary. “You’re pulling my leg.” _

_ “Swear that I’m not.” _

_ She fixes him with a hard stare, the one that’s always been able to see past whatever front he’s decided to put up. It only took a few years of knowing him for her to be able to read him like a book, and by now she has him memorized from cover to cover. _

_ The question comes out slow, searching as she asks, “You mean it – you see me as your right hand?” _

_ He sort of shrugs, sort of nods, but definitely isn’t backing down. “Sure do. Why, you don’t want it?” _

_ “Depends. Am I getting the promotion just because I’m sleeping with the boss?” The whisper is right up against his ear, bordering on shameless and making a grin grow on his face. _

_ “You’re getting it because you call me out on my bullshit and have good ideas.” All traces of teasing are gone from his face and voice, and he gives her a simple nod. He’s never been great with words, or expressing himself, so he settles for the simple truth. “I trust you.” _

_ She smiles, leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek, lips lingering against his skin. “I like you, ya big lug.” When she pulls back, she gives him a wink and a laugh. “Don’t make me regret it.” _

_ “Never.” _

_ He pulls her tighter against him, and he knows better than to think monsters like them can feel something like love, but maybe, this is as close as it gets. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Skull, chapter 3: who's ready for some action, adrenaline, and comic relief???  
Team Skull, chapter 18: who's ready for sadness and emotional trauma???


	19. kraken open a cold one with the boys

[[♪ Ship To Wreck - Florence + the Machine ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6VuGNJUYLc)

Lillie takes a deep breath, Nebby resting in her arms as she looks out at the gathered group in the living room. Kukui stands next to her, the only other person she’s shared this information with, and the others sit and wait for her to deliver her announcement. 

“We can’t use the flutes.” 

Five faces twist in confusion, looking amongst each other as Sun shakes his head. “I thought they were our best option,” he mumbles, thinking back on the passage from Shauntal that Lillie copied, adding, “Won’t the Sun Flute banish all the active UBs back to Ultra Space and seal the portal for another thousand years or whatever?” 

Kukui’s usual easy smile hasn’t appeared once so far, and it stays that way, his voice as serious as his eyes. “Do you recall the function of the Moon Flute?” 

“It restarted the Slayer line,” Hau mumbles, remembering the old legend of the sky invaders. The others nod, still bemused as they turn to look at Lillie and Kukui, the two exchanging a look before the witch sighs. 

“The Sun Flute works due to the sacrifice of a Slayer.” Lillie’s eyes are downcast as she pulls Nebby closer to her chest, the UB frowning at the tension in her body. “Alola’s first Slayer gave her life to save the world. Then they had to create the Moon Flute to call forth another line of Chosen.” 

Sun is the first to catch on, but his voice is lodged in his throat. “If we use the flute...” 

“I’ll die.” 

They turn to look at Moon. She says it nonchalantly, like it’s a truth she’s known for years (and in a way, she has). Her brows are furrowed, but her frown is more thoughtful than upset. 

“We can’t use the flutes.” Gladion, sitting next to her on the couch, stares her down stubbornly. With a shake of his head he insists, “We’ll find something else.” 

And while they’re all inclined to agree, the silence that follows is heavy as they realize they’re back to square one. The imminent battle inches closer, but they’ve only taken steps backwards, leaving them more or less where they started. 

Burnet looks around the room, her chest clenching at the sight of twenty-somethings resigned to the end of the world. She stands, hands on her hips and drawing their attention, keeping her voice gentle but insistent. “Seems to me like you all could use a refresh. How about we take a day off from saving the world?” 

It looks like they might argue, but Kukui is nodding and an idea sparks in Sun’s eyes as he mumbles with a lopsided smile, “I know just the spot.” 

* * *

Kala’e Bay is full of sunshine and gentle breezes, the beach more or less empty except for three familiar sirens who greet the approaching group with waves and large smiles of fangs. They quickly set themselves up, Olivia, Lana, and Mallow introducing themselves to Kukui and Burnet, and then they’re all enjoying themselves in the sun, leaving Gladion with his own set-up in the mouth of the cave, Nebby floating around his head as he reads. 

In between passages of his book, though, he glances up, his sunglasses hiding how his gaze travels over the group. 

Hau’s made it his mission to teach Lillie to swim after finding out that she hasn’t in years and is more than a little nervous to get in the water. Along with Olivia, he holds her hands and guides her in relatively shallow water, shouting encouragements as she kicks her legs behind her, Olivia giving tips on her form. 

Kukui and Burnet have decided on building a sandcastle, the two putting their minds to good use as they draw up diagrams in the sand and gently argue about structural integrity. After only a few hours, their sandcastle looks like a Venetian palace, and they split a beer between themselves as they settle in to work on the details, laughing at each other as they catch themselves taking it too seriously. 

Gladion’s eyes, however, are most often drawn to the group having a water fight. Lana, Mallow, Sun, and Moon are having a true battle, with seemingly no rules and little mercy. Lana and Mallow are quick to use their siren powers to cheat, the two girls summoning waves of water to splash over the two humans. It doesn’t take long for Moon to see she’s disadvantaged, shouting at the sirens to join forces as the three gain up on Sun, who stands no chance against the onslaught, his sister’s water gun nailing him in the face as he laughs, “I yield! I yield!” 

Moon cackles as Lana and Mallow follow Sun, refusing to let him run away, and giving her the perfect opportunity to sneak off, dropping her water gun on the sand and heading towards the cave entrance where they’ve set up the cooler of drinks and snacks. 

The second she turns towards him, Gladion snaps his head down, Nebby giving a curious twinkle at the sudden movement. The vampire keeps his eyes on his book, realizing too late that he’s lost his place but not daring to lift his gaze as he can sense Moon approaching. 

She reaches down, opening the cooler and grabbing a soda, careful to open the can away from her body before taking a long drink. 

Which is unfortunate, because Gladion makes the mistake of looking up and becoming transfixed by her neck, only vaguely realizing that she’s looking back at him as she wipes at her mouth, mumbling, “A beach day probably isn’t your ideal way to relax.” 

He blinks, her words finally registering as he shrugs, forcing his gaze back out towards the bay, watching as Hau helps Lillie float on her back. “Not unless the beach is indoors or it’s past midnight. This isn’t a bad compromise, though.” 

Moon follows where she assumes his eyes are aimed at, smiling as Hau places his lips on Lillie’s forehead and she giggles, Olivia nearby laughing adoringly at the sight. “You haven’t been glaring at Hau much. Decided to drop the protective brother act?” she asks, stealing a glance at the vampire. 

“They’re good for each other, whether or not I gripe about it.” It’s his honest answer, especially considering how many times Hau has saved Lillie at this point and vice-versa. His eyes go back to his book, trying to find his spot once more as he mumbles absent-mindedly, “You seem like you’re having fun.” 

“How can you tell when you won’t look at me?” Nebby floats up to her, and she gives the UB a much-appreciated pat before looking back down at Gladion, taking a long sip of her soda to hide her smirk. 

Somehow, he manages to bury his face deeper into his book. “It’s radiating off of you.” 

“Are you scandalized by my swimsuit?” Her laugh travels down his spine, sends them right back into the gray area they’ve dutifully avoided since the Cupid’s arrow debacle. She sits on the cooler next to him, taking another sip as she waggles her brows, pitching her voice high and lofty, something straight out of a period drama. “Have I offended your sensibilities?” 

“You know I was turned two years ago and not two-hundred years ago, right?” He rolls his eyes, but still won’t look over at her. Really, it’s not the swimsuit, which even for a bikini is fairly modest, something simple and black. 

It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that he’s never seen so much of her skin and there are rivulets of water running down her– 

“Could’ve fooled me.” 

She leaves it at that, the two sitting in relative quiet that’s interrupted by Lana, Mallow, and Sun’s shouts, and the occasional cosmic chime from Nebby as the creature flits about the cave, fascinated with the stalactites. 

“We can’t use the flutes.” 

Her voice is small, enough that he has to turn to make sure she actually said it and he didn’t imagine it. She’s staring straight ahead, but her jaw is clenched, and he frowns. “We’ll find something else.” 

When she looks at him, his stomach rolls at the anxiety that passes through her eyes. “What if we don’t?” 

“Then we’ll fight, and we’ll still win.” He leaves no room for argument, deciding that he’ll have to be confident enough for the both of them right now rather than share his usual pessimistic outlook. Closing his book – because there was no way he was going to actually get any reading done the second she started walking towards him – he adds, “Burnet banned flute talk.” 

“Right, this is a distraction day. No flutes, no apocalypse, and no UBs.” She sets her empty can into the trash bag they brought, standing and glancing over at the Cosmog floating back towards them with a small smile on his face. “Except for you of course, Nebby.” 

“Hey guys?” 

They turn, Sun’s voice wavering through the air. He’s pointing out towards the sea, and their eyes follow to see a disturbance in the water, large bubbles forming as something rises. 

Two black claws breach the water’s surface, rising as the waves grow choppy. Gladion stands, Hau and Lillie quick to get out of the water as a large, spiky body rises up. Blue eyes glow as a large mouth opens, ocean water rushing in as the Ultra Beast unleashes a roar that shakes the palm trees on the beach. 

The Slayer sighs. “And there ends the distraction.” 

* * *

Wicke hears Lusamine’s footsteps down the hall of Aether Paradise and stands, grabbing her clipboard as she walks out of her office to join her. She struggles to keep up with the taller woman’s steps, Lusamine not even bothering to look at her as she barks, “Update on UB-05.” 

“Spotted off the coast of Melemele Island.” The branch manager received an incredibly panicked phone call from the lead of their Melemele division just a few minutes ago. Their usual employees who would be focused on conservation and animal control in the field have since been refocused entirely on keeping a watch for UBs around the time that Aether Paradise opens a wormhole. “Field team is ready to move in, but the Slayer is at the site.” 

Lusamine hums a flat note as her steps don’t falter. “Is the key with them?” 

It is, but only the field team lead knows that, and Wicke is the only point of contact between him and the woman in front of her. She shakes her head. “Unclear. We could activate our beacon to draw the UB away regardless.” 

The blonde shakes her head imperceptibly, a grin growing on her face that doesn’t reach her eyes. “No, let’s see how the dear little Slayer puts up with this one. Anything else?” 

“Guzma is in your office,” Wicke mumbles, just as they reach the office door. 

With a sigh, Lusamine’s grin drops from her face, replaced with a chilled irritation. “Of course he is. You’re dismissed.” 

Wicke is quick to walk away, turning before she can see Lusamine compose her face once more into a pleasant smile as she opens the door. 

Her office overlooks the ocean with floor-to-ceiling windows, but ever since her siring, she’s had them covered in shades, plunging the room into darkness except for the few lamps she keeps scattered around the room. In the dark, she can easily make out Guzma’s form sitting in an armchair across from her desk, hunched and so much smaller than usual. 

“What are you doing here?” she asks, not quite polite as she walks around him and settles herself behind her desk. 

“Plumeria’s still gone. I was wondering if your people found anything?” He looks rather hopeful. 

It’s pathetic. 

For a creature without a soul, her prototype for a better, more perfect monster, he still has a pesky humanity about him. 

She lied about sending out a team to look for her; anything to get him to shut up about it. With a sigh, she shakes her head. “Unfortunately, no. It looks like she may have run off for good.” She rests her elbows on the desk, eyes narrowing. “It may be for the best. After all, lying to you about the key – there's no coming back from that broken trust.” 

He scratches at the back of his neck, irritation flaring up in his eyes only to quickly be overshadowed by a nervous frown. “I mean, she didn’t really lie, it was–” 

“Has she gotten in your head?” Lusamine’s hands slam down on the desk as she leans forward, Guzma flinching as she snarls in his face, “She made a mockery of you, dragged you along like an idiot in front of the coven you’ve worked so hard to build. Surely you aren’t weak enough to think you can forgive her?” 

“...no.” He’s trying not to shrink in on himself, trying to hold her gaze, but there’s such venom there that he can’t help but wither just a little. 

Her smile is back, and she sits back in her chair. “Good. I’m glad to hear.” She picks up a manila folder nearby, glancing up at him as she mutters, “Now, I have important matters to attend to.” 

His head is nodding and his feet are moving of their own accord, sending him to the door and out the office. 

If he listens to his own thoughts for too long, Plumeria’s warnings claw at him. 

He hopes they leave a mark. 

* * *

_ We have found that salt is useless against most of the evil forces in the sea. In hindsight, perhaps this was obvious due to the fact that they reside in oceans, which are composed entirely of saltwater. _

** _ Possible Defenses Against Oceanic Terrors of _****_Arcanic_****_ Origin by Professor David Jones, University of Transylvania Press _ **

* * *

“Where the hell did it go?” Sun squeaks, more than a little worried that the giant UB has managed to dive back into the water and out of their sight before anyone could make a move. His eyes desperately scan the sea as he backs up onto the sand with the others, but he can’t make out any dark shapes and it’s far too shallow for the creature to hide close to the bay. 

Lana’s black sclera widen and light up. “I don’t know, but I’ll catch it!” 

And the small siren dives into the water, blue tail giving a flip before she’s under the surface. 

Gladion raises a brow, glancing over at Olivia and Mallow, who seem less than perturbed that the smallest of their trio has just elected to try and wrangle an alien five times her size. “You understand why we’re skeptical, right?” 

Olivia chuckles, assuring them, “Our Lana’s a bit of a fisher, and this isn’t the biggest monster she’s set her eyes on before.” 

“She’ll get it for you, no problem – the real question is what are you gonna do once she catches it?” Mallow looks among their group, sizing them up. She knows the Slayer and her friends are capable after their fight, but taking down three sirens seems like a breeze compared to the hurricane of a fight the UB they just spotted will no doubt put up. 

Moon glances over at Kukui. “Don’t suppose you have any crossbows on you?” 

“Fresh out.” The Watcher gives her a smile, but his face grows more serious as he looks back out on the water before looking back on the group, realizing that whether he’s supposed to or not according to the Council, he feels incredibly responsible for all of their safety, especially when he’s seen three of them grow up in a way. “Let’s keep our distance and look for any signs of a weak point.” 

A minute passes, in which their tense silence is only broken by a seagull cawing as it flies inland. Hau and Lillie crouch together, hands at the ready to cast, while the others hang back, Gladion debating if he should throw on the hoodie he brought to protect himself from the sun, but unwilling to take his eyes off the water for even a second. 

Mallow and Olivia seem to sense something at the same time, pointing towards an outcropping of boulders in the water, the group watching as finally, the surface of the water begins to churn. 

Lana appears, both hands holding the two black claws as the UB – a Guzzlord, as Lillie managed to identify – thrashes violently, rising out of the water with a roar. The blue-haired siren lets out an excited yelp as she seems to steer the UB closer to shore, but as the creature grows more desperate in its movements, her grip on the claws slips and she’s sent flying back nearly a mile, her body crashing into the ocean. The other two sirens cry out, diving under the water’s surface to go to her, leaving the group with the Guzzlord as it steadily walks towards them. 

Hau is the first to act, focusing as he builds a wave and sends it hurtling towards the UB in an attempt to throw it off balance. 

Instead, the Guzzlord opens its maw wide, ocean water filling it as it remains standing. 

The smaller pair of its glowing blue eyes then spots Nebby, the tiny alien trying to float slowly back, further into the cave. A black claw lurches forward, reaching directly for the creature, and Lillie is quick to send an ice spell flying, the Guzzlord crying out as frost forms on its claw. 

Lillie tries to aim another ray of frost at the other claw, but it’s moving too quickly and the spell instead lands into the Guzzlord’s mouth, only for the UB to chomp down on it, pausing as it swallows, and then opening its mouth wide once more and continuing its walk towards the shore. 

Moon grows desperate enough to try her less than successful rock strategy once more, dashing towards one of the larger slabs of smooth black rock on the beach and lifting it, quickly throwing it towards the alien. 

It lands directly into its mouth and with a few chews, the rock is crushed and swallowed, failing to deter the Ultra Beast. 

Sun raises a brow as Moon rejoins their group. “I’m sensing a pattern.” 

“This thing has an iron stomach and insatiable appetite,” Hau mumbles, almost impressed as he watches the creature snatch a small palm tree with a claw, tearing it out of the sand and shoving it down its gullet. 

Burnet straightens, eyes bright with an idea. “Which means we just need to feed it the right thing.” 

The others turn, about to ask her what she has in mind when she crouches down next to the portable grill they brought with them, picking up the small propane tank they have yet to connect to it and looking to the others with a dangerous glint in her eyes. 

“You kids ever seen_ Jaws?” _

She passes the propane tank off to Gladion’s outstretched hand, the vampire turning to give his sister a smirk. “I’ll toss, you ignite?” 

Lillie grins, nodding as she raises a hand, a ball of blue fire forming (and she can’t help but giggle when she catches Hau’s wide-eyed gaze and awed whisper of “my girlfriend is so cool”). 

The Guzzlord is reaching both claws towards them now, Nebby letting out a yelp. Gladion throws the tank, watching it sail through the air and into the UB’s waiting mouth. Just before its jaws can close, Lillie sends her fireball flying, hitting the tank dead center. 

There’s no grand explosion, but the Guzzlord does stop moving, and a second later its entire body is lifted a few inches off the ground. It opens its mouth with a strangled cry, smoke falling out as its claws fall limply into the water. The group watches, holding their breaths as the UB very nearly tips over, only to straighten and turn slightly back towards the sea, sensing something. 

It stomps back out to the ocean, body slowly sinking into the water. 

Kukui lets out a deep breath, glad they were able to handle it without any injuries, but unable to completely hide his disappointment that yet another UB escaped. “At least it’s gone.” 

The others nods, but Sun frowns, a thought occurring to him that twists his stomach into seven different knots. 

“Yeah, but where do they go?” 

They stand, watching the water, and wonder. 

* * *

The three sirens make their way back soon after, and Lana’s wide smile as she gushes about the adrenaline rush helps lighten the mood significantly. Without their propane tank, they settle instead on making a fire pit, Hau supplying the fire to help them roast the hot dogs and marshmallows they brought for dinner. 

Olivia, Lana, and Mallow are the first to depart, with the other two finally convincing Lana she needs to rest after her earlier grappling with the Guzzlord. After a quick round of goodbyes, they dive into the water, leaving the others to finish off their s’mores. 

Lillie and Hau have wrapped themselves up in a blanket as soon as the sun started going down, laughing as Nebby quickly made himself comfortable between them, letting out a few otherworldly twinkles at the warmth under the blanket as he poked his head out. 

Sun sits beside them, cramming another five marshmallows on his skewer as he debates the best method of roasting them with Burnet – he argues that they should all be evenly roasted to a golden color, while the scientist argues instead for the method of catching them on fire to get a char going. 

Kukui laughs softly, smiling at the sight of his wife next to him before turning back to his conversation with Moon about the other prominent members of the underground supernatural community in Alola that she didn’t know about. She just about loses her mind when he reveals that Melemele High School’s vice principal is a gorgon, hence her propensity for sunglasses even while indoors. 

At her wide-eyed stare and parted lips, Gladion hides a laugh by taking another sip from his can of Hala’s Brew. He’s been quiet for most of the evening, simply sitting next to the Slayer and watching her as she gesticulates with her hands, her eyes seeming to glow in the firelight. She’s since thrown an oversized T-shirt over her swimsuit, but her legs are still bare, and if she shifts just a little closer, he could reach out and touch the warm, freckled skin. 

He takes a very long drink. 

With the fire dying down and the last of their marshmallows consumed by Sun, Kukui and Burnet stand, packing up their things and whispering to each other. Moon steals a few glances at them, smiling when she can clearly see the adoration in Kukui’s eyes, when Burnet distracts him from rolling up a towel with a kiss on his neck. 

Moon’s grip on the beer in her hands tightens as she turns away, swearing she can feel lips against her own neck before a bite, remembering how those same lips tasted against hers, and then realizing that the vampire those lips are attached to is sitting maybe a foot to her left. 

She takes a very long drink. 

Kukui stands, their beach bag over his shoulder and hands full with the portable grill as he turns to look at the group still gathered around the fire. “We’re gonna head out, are you all okay to get home?” 

Burnet watches them nod, adjusting her grip on the cooler as she looks to the witch currently wrapped in a blanket and asking with a smile, “Are you staying, Lillie?” 

“I-I was planning on, um...” Her pale cheeks color, not quite able to meet Burnet’s eyes. 

Hau grins wide, answering for her simply, “She’s spending the night at my place if you guys are okay to look after Nebby.” 

At the mention of his name, the UB pops up out of the blanket, the others laughing as the Cosmog chimes and floats towards Burnet, who’s put down the cooler for a moment and grabbed the duffel bag that now serves as the UB’s travel bag, holding it open. 

Once Nebby is safely inside and zipped up, she gives everyone a wave before carrying the cooler once more. “Night everyone!” 

There’s a chorus of goodbyes as the two head into the cave and up the path out. As they leave, they seem to take the conversation with them, the others sitting silently and staring into the fire, a cool breeze bringing a more somber air. 

Sun chews his cheek, pulling his legs up to his chest as he mumbles, “So I know we promised not to talk about apocalypse business, but can I just get a quick show of hands of anyone else who’s becoming intensely aware that as more and more aliens show up we’ll be forced into battling Lusamine soon to stop her before she builds an army and enacts her plan?” 

Slowly, four hands go up in the air. Sun glances at them and nods. “Okay cool, just checking.” 

“Y’know, not to be a downer, but we haven’t actually killed any UBs. I don’t know if we can.” Hau pulls the blanket tighter around him and Lillie after he speaks, frowning into the fire. 

Moon crosses her legs, her fingers fidgeting with the neck of the bottle in her hands as she admits quietly, “I don’t think I’ll be able to.” 

The more Ultra Beasts they fight, the clearer it becomes that they just want to go home. Lillie’s hypothesized that with Nebby’s teleportation abilities, the aliens target the Cosmog as their chance to get back to Ultra Space, meaning every fight is just a desperate attempt to leave. 

“We might still be able to open a wormhole to Ultra Space without the Sun Flute.” Lillie worries her bottom lip, thinking out loud, “If we can find how my mother is opening up her wormholes, we may be able to commandeer it. The problem is we won’t be able to control what actually gets pulled through.” 

Sun takes a sharp breath between his teeth. “Sounds risky.” 

“It’s all risky now.” Gladion sighs, rubbing his temples with a hand as he feels the stress headache coming on. 

“And on that cheerful note, I’m going to go home and lay in bed for a while until sleep mercifully claims me.” Sun stands, stretching before he goes to grab his things. 

Lillie lets loose a small yawn, trying to cover it with a hand but Hau catching her all the same, asking with a soft smile, “Want to head out, too?” She nods, and his grin turns impish as he stands, keeping the blanket wrapped around her as he lifts her into his arms bridal style, the witch letting out a small yelp and throwing her arms around his neck, only to giggle a moment after. 

The others smile as the druid bends down, allowing Lillie to pick up their bag and place it on her lap as he refuses to put her down, walking them instead towards the cave entrance where Sun waits. 

He looks over at his sister with a raised brow as she remains sitting. “Planning on sleeping here, Moonbeam?” 

“I’ll head out soon.” Her voice sounds tired, eyes half-lidded from the buzz of alcohol in her system and a fight with an alien. 

Sun narrows his eyes, and Gladion looks between the two, eyes settling on the human as he nods. “I’ll make sure she actually does.” 

“Thanks,” he mumbles with a lopsided smile, only for it to stretch into a shit-eating grin as he looks back at his sister and teases, “And I’m gonna tell mom you stayed out late with a_ boy.” _

She snorts. “Jealous?” 

He scowls in response, the others laughing as they exchange goodbyes. 

Which leaves a dying fire and Moon and Gladion alone on the beach, finishing off their half-empty drinks in a relatively comfortable silence punctuated by the sound of distant waves. 

Though he tries to keep his eyes on the last of the fire, his gaze wanders to the Slayer, a question brewing in his mind as he bites his cheek. She seems to feel his gaze, taking another sip before looking up at him out of the corner of her eyes with a lopsided smile. “What?” 

“Nothing, it’s...invasive.” 

“I don’t mind,” she mumbles, thinking for a moment before adding with a shrug, “Probably.” This last beer has loosened her up, and she’s also grown far too comfortable around the vampire. 

Still, he hesitates, looking down at the can in his hands and his voice growing soft. “I’ve just never heard you mention your dad.” 

Moon nods, setting her empty bottle aside and leaning back on her hands to stare up at the night sky. 

“That would be because he’s dead.” 

“Oh.” 

_ Oh? She drops that and the best you have is ‘oh?’ _Gladion sort of wishes she brought a stake just so he can drive it through himself in this moment. He turns to look at her, unable to make out her expression as the fire casts shadows and she doesn’t look at him. “Sorry, I–” 

“It’s all right. Not like you knew.” Finally, she glances over at him, sparing him an understanding smile as she shifts her body. She ends up sitting slightly closer to him, close enough that he can feel the warmth of her body. As she looks back up at the sky, she explains, “He passed away when I was five. Car accident. I don’t remember much, but what I do remember is happy. He was always looking to help people.” 

He watches her closely, can see now that she’s relaxed into a pleasant memory. “He sounds like he was a good person.” 

“I’d like to think he was.” She gives him a small smile, before her brows furrow. “What about yours?” 

Gladion looks back to the fire. “Also dead.” 

“Ah, so you also have daddy issues?” 

The silence is thick, and then it snaps, Gladion turning to look at her smirk and unable to stop his laughter, shaking his head as he mirrors her sitting position and leans back (and if it ends up moving him just a little closer to her, then all the better). 

She grins at his laugh, memorizing the sound before she sheepishly asks, “Was that tasteless?” 

“Only if you don’t have a dead dad,” he mumbles, and he gives her a smile for good measure. 

A moment passes, and his body grows slightly stiffer as he debates with himself. She isn’t prying, isn’t asking anymore questions, but he feels something tug on him, opening his mouth as he tells her all the same, “It’s been a while, too. He was a scientist, and they said it was a lab accident. I was pretty young, but even I knew that wasn’t right, and it turns out it was a vampire.” 

His eyes narrow as he stares into the last embers of the fire, fingers digging into the sand. “So what does my mother decide to do but take her grief and throw it into becoming a vampire and then planning the destruction of the world.” 

“And I thought Medea’s kids had it rough.” He gives another snort, and she smiles again but this time it’s melancholic and quickly falls, replaced instead with a concerned look as her voice dips into something raw and soft. “Bad, deflecting jokes aside, I’m sorry.” 

He shakes his head. “I’ve had my time to mourn. I’m just ready to finally take her down and move on.” 

She considers him for a moment, and he feels her gaze hot against his cheek, so he turns to find her appraising him with narrowed eyes and an impish smirk. “I’m gonna ask you a question, and just say the first answer that pops into your head.” Before he can think to argue against it, she leans towards him, asking, “When all this is over, what do you want?” 

“A dog.” 

Moon blinks, eyes widening – she wasn’t sure what she expected, but the simple answer is clearly the truth with the way he’s looking at her, unashamed and waiting for a response. 

“Really?” 

Now he grows self-conscious, a hand scratching at the back of his neck as he explains, “Yeah I...I want a dog. I have for a while. But uh, we were never allowed one growing up, and after getting turned, I haven’t really been in a good place to take care of a dog.” 

“Would’ve pegged you for a cat person.” 

“Don’t mind them, but I’ve always liked dogs more.” He glances over at her, feeling something swoop in his chest at the realization that she’s still looking at him, eyes warm even without the fire to light them. “What about you?” 

Her lips part, apparently unprepared for the question to be thrown back at her. She hesitates for a moment, gears turning in her head before her face settles into a mysterious smile as she pulls up a leg and rests a cheek against her knee. 

“For all of you to be happy.” 

He feels his face fall into a deadpan as he mutters, “Well now I look like an asshole.” 

“No, no!” She laughs, leaning onto his side and giving his arm a reassuring pat, and he’s embarrassed that the simple gesture has his breath hitching when he doesn’t even need to breathe in the first place. Her smile is radiant as she tells him simply, “A dog is a good answer. You’re a good person.” 

“Not a person.” The air is colder around him now, his eyes dropping their light as he looks up at the stars with a frown, adding with a tone dripping in self-loathing, “And can’t technically be ‘good’ when I’m drinking blood.” 

Moon rolls her eyes. “Oh, shut up.” 

Gladion blinks, looking over at her with a stunned chuckle, but she shakes her head, no sign of a joke on her face as she tells him earnestly, “I’m serious! Shut up with this ‘broody vampire’ shtick. You’re a good person. I mean, what is being good but a series of decisions, right? And at every point, you’ve made the responsible, selfless decision. You’re better than most people I know.” 

Then her gaze slides from his face to her hands as she fidgets with her fingers. “I mean, you’re talking to the girl who played hooky from being Slayer just to try and be normal.” 

“You wanted a choice.” 

“Yeah, and I made the wrong one,” she sighs, and he can practically see the guilt weighing down her shoulders. 

That won’t do. It won’t do at all, he decides, to see the woman who regularly risks her life to keep the world safe, who has a spot in her heart for every monster she comes across, to think that she’s not doing her best. 

“How old were you when you knew?” he asks, the question having a clear point beyond simple curiosity. 

“Thirteen.” 

He gapes, realizing he’d always pictured her older when it happened. She’s small now, he can hardly imagine how tiny she must have been at that age, barely old enough to understand how the world works, much less see the evils of it. 

“Moon, you were a child and a bunch of weird old men wanted you to go to war for them. Everyone deserves a childhood – you made the right choice.” 

She’s quiet, avoiding his gaze for a long moment, and he falters, thinking he might have said something wrong. 

When she finally looks over at him, her cheek against her knee, he realizes that there are tears in the corner of her eyes. He panics for a moment, but then she’s wiping at the tears and laughing at herself, some final tension releasing as she looks up at him. “Thanks, Gladion.” 

And with the way she’s looking at him, if he had any less self-control, he would kiss her. 

But when she keeps smiling at him and he feels his chest clench at the sight of her tears, his self-control wavers and he leans forward, a hand in her hair as his lips brush her forehead. He hears how her breath catches, and he sits back, quick to mumble, “Sorry...drunk.” 

He’s not. 

If she can tell he’s lying, she doesn’t call him out on it. The blush spreading across her cheeks isn’t quite hidden by the fire finally dying out, and she clears her throat, trying to regain her voice. “We should head back.” 

Some part of him is nodding as they stand, tossing sand over the fire and grabbing their things. On the way into the cave, she stumbles, just a little, just enough to send her falling into his side and gripping his arm as she whispers, “Sorry...drunk.” 

She’s not. 

If he can tell she’s lying, he doesn’t say anything, instead mumbling something about keeping her stable as he takes her hand, the two walking into the cave. 

Moon figures he must be humoring her, that he’ll drop her hand the second they make it out of the cave. 

He doesn’t let go until they’re in her apartment, mumbling their goodnights and not quite looking at each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the beauty of Kukui and Burnet's relationship is that it's a balance of Kukui saying "we should be cautious" and then Burnet following that up five minutes later with "so you guys wanna make a bomb??"
> 
> we've also reached the stage of lona development where they're going to have to think of increasingly elaborate excuses to touch each other until something gives


	20. the hellhounds of baskerville

[[♪ The Struggle - Grizfolk ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evesz3tyrgM)

It’s rare for the druid tribe on Melemele to all gather outside of a meeting called by Hala, but there’s no better incentive than a free breakfast at the bar. 

Hau shovels another fork of pancakes into his mouth, chewing with a smile as he takes in the other nature spirits, men and women who have watched him grow up, who he’d consider family at this point. Sitting next to him at the bar, a middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair, Leilani, throws an arm around his shoulders, nearly knocking him out of his chair as she laughs. “So when are you taking over for poor old Hala?” 

Hala bristles behind the bar, giving her a scowl. “Old?” 

Leilani gives the kahuna a wide grin, but a few seats away, a scrawnier man in his thirties, Keon, shakes his head. “Give him a few more years.” 

“His magic’s been improving,” Leilani argues, bringing Hau closer to her side as she smirks, a teasing lilt to her voice. “Something tells me the girlfriend’s been a good influence.” 

But Hau’s smile back is wide and earnest, the adoration in his eyes nearly blinding as he lets out a dreamy sigh. “Oh she’s great, you have to meet her.” 

“Introducing her to family? Must be pretty serious.” The others laugh, but Hala shakes his head, knowing what’s coming next. 

And sure enough, Hau looks around and says with the utmost conviction and a nod, “I’m gonna marry her.” 

Keon raises a brow, and Leilani’s jaw drops, though she’s the first to start another round of laughter, the others joining in with questions of when they’ll get to formally meet the witch he keeps gushing about, and taking jabs at just how serious he is. Hau takes it all in stride, his confidence unwavering. 

Hala watches with a small smile, his eyes traveling over the druids at the bar until his gaze is pulled to the television hanging in the corner. He usually keeps it muted, and this morning it’s set to the local news. 

But as a special report continues, Hala’s eyes narrow, his stomach dropping. 

“Where’s the remote?” 

The others quiet down, immediately sensing the tension in Hala’s voice. Someone finds the remote by their plate, and passes it off to the kahuna, who immediately turns up the volume. Everyone’s attention turns to the screen as the anchor’s voice fills the bar. 

“–spotted several wild dogs along Mahalo Trail. Locals and tourists are encouraged to use caution when traveling the area, or avoid it entirely in order to prevent further attacks. Animal control and the Aether corporation are involved, but neither can pinpoint where the animals have come from.” 

As the report goes on, grainy, dark footage of a pack of dogs appears on screen, the creatures barely visible as they hide in the trees of Mahalo Trail. Whatever was left of the jovial atmosphere leaves the bar, the druids sitting in tense silence, slowly turning to look at Hala, whose gaze remains on the television a moment longer as he thinks. 

Then he grunts, nodding, and they know he has a plan. 

“I want regularly scheduled patrols on the area. Assign less people to shrine duty if need be. Hau?” He looks over at the young man, who sits up straighter in his seat, his previous smile replaced by a serious frown. “Get your group on this. Something tells me Kukui might know what this is.” 

* * *

“I don’t know what this is, cousin.” 

Kukui squints, leaning closer to the laptop and pausing the news report, focusing on a still image of the large dogs. Burnet leans over his shoulder at the kitchen table, but she’s frowning and clearly confused as well as her husband explains, “All the footage is too blurry to properly make them out, but considering these attacks are happening during a half moon, we can at least rule out werewolves.” 

Hau sighs, tension clear in his shoulders as he sits at the kitchen table. Lillie glances over at him, brows furrowed as Nebby floats between them. 

Moon’s found a seat for herself on the kitchen counter, Gladin leaning next to her. She thinks for a moment before asking, “Is it possible it could be more shapeshifting demons?” 

Kukui hums, considering it but not looking very hopeful. “Since it’s around the shrine again, possibly, but demons tend to be solitary. You’d be hard-pressed to find any that would work in this big of a pack.” 

Sun’s been relatively quiet this whole time, leaning over in his seat to catch glimpses of the footage. He sits back, his chin in his hand as he stares at the table, mumbling, “Would this be the sort of thing druids could morph into?” 

A chair scrapes against the floor, and they turn to see Hau standing now, his hands on the table as he leans towards Sun. His voice isn’t a snarl, but it’s far from his usual friendly tone, his usually warm eyes sending a chill down Sun’s spine. “What are you saying?” 

“Nothing, it was stupid, I–” 

“No, say it.” Underneath the anger in his voice is a deeper hurt, one that stabs right into Sun’s chest as Hau snaps, “You think someone from my tribe could do this.” 

Sun’s lips part, his chest clenching as he shakes his head. “I didn’t say that.” 

“You didn’t need to.” 

The others watch in stunned silence as Hau turns, making his way to the front door and slamming it shut behind him. 

Fresh air – he needs fresh air. His head is spinning and his stomach is turning at the insinuations. Hau takes a deep breath, taking a seat on the steps to the front porch with his head in his hands, forcing himself to calm down. 

A few moments later, the front door opens, and he looks up, eyes widening as he sees Gladion stepping out. The vampire doesn’t look at him, instead keeping his eyes on the beach stretching out in front of them as he remains safely in the shadow of the front porch. 

“Didn’t think it was possible for you to get angry.” 

“I overreacted, didn’t I?” Hau cringes, knowing it’s true, and not entirely knowing where the vitriol came from. He knows Sun didn’t mean anything by it, and was just thinking out loud, trying to throw out any helpful suggestion, but it struck something that he’s clearly had buried. He digs a bit into himself, looking down at his hands as he sighs. 

“It’s just...back in high school, I was always aware that I was the weirdo, y’know? Moon wasn’t a Slayer, and Sun’s human, and I was the magic druid with weird powers.” He glances over at Gladion, who hasn’t moved but is now watching him, listening intently without a trace of judgment in his face. “Then we met you and Lillie, and we kind of became Slayer Incorporated, and I...forgot, I guess, that I’m not normal. That I’m closer to the monsters we fight than not.” 

A smirk takes over Gladion’s lips. “Please don’t take the monster shtick from me.” 

Hau blinks, and then he’s chuckling, not quite back to his usual roar of laughter, but certainly lighter than when he was growling at his best friend. 

“Didn’t think you could crack jokes.” 

The vampire shrugs. “On occasion. Reminds me I’m still somewhat a person.” 

“And Moon likes funny guys,” Hau mumbles, trying not to grin too wide when Gladion very nearly sputters at the suggestion. 

“We’re talking about you right now,” he snaps, far too quickly to be casual. He runs a hand through his hair, taking a moment to arrange the words. “Look, a lot of the monsters we fight aren’t all that monstrous. We just spent a day with three sirens who took a need for respect too far. So yeah, I’d say you’re pretty close to them, in the same way that Sun and Kukui and Burnet are a step away from becoming something similar.” 

His eyes harden for a moment at a thought that Hau can’t see. “The real monsters, though? You’re nothing like them. That’s all that matters.” 

They lock eyes, and Gladion still has his natural scowl, but it’s less sharp somehow, a touch more comforting, and it brings a crooked smile to Hau’s face as he feels the last of the tension melting from his body. “Thanks, cousin.” 

The door creaks open once more, and Lillie pokes her head out, looking between the two before she steps out fully. Hau smiles up at her, and she returns it, small and gentle as she tells him, “Sun’s been profusely apologizing to the air for several minutes now – if you feel like coming back inside, I’m sure he’d appreciate having a face to apologize to.” 

“I will.” He stands, walking past Gladion and towards the door, Lillie softly catching his arm before he goes in. 

She looks up, searching his face as her hand travels down to his, intertwining their fingers as she whispers, “Feeling all right?” 

“Yeah.” He squeezes her hand, feeling warmth blooming in his chest as he leans down to place a quick kiss on her cheek. With a glance back, he adds, “Your brother’s pretty cool. Funny, too.” 

Lillie’s eyes light up as she glances over at Gladion. “Oh! Moon likes funny guys.” 

He groans, rubbing a hand over his face as the other two laugh at his expense. 

“This is what I get for being nice.” 

* * *

_ Druids are known for their generally peaceful nature and rather democratic tribes. Though a leader may rise to delegate shrine duties, most decisions are come to with open discussion and an informal vote. _

** _ Doctor _****_Gramtapen’s_****_ Grimoire, 9_****_th_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

Hau sits on the edge of the stage in Iki Town, leaning back, fingers mindlessly tapping as he waits. The sun’s just set, and several houses around him have a warm glow in the windows, filling the central square with dim light. A few minutes pass and then he sees Moon approaching, fresh off her shift at the pharmacy but dressed down and ready for anything as she stops in front of him, giving a mock salute. 

“K-9 unit, reporting for duty.” 

He chuckles as he stands. “The bad puns must be hereditary.” 

“They’re actually in the Slayer handbook,” she says, nodding sagely. “Chapter four.” 

Hau shakes his head, leading the way through Iki Town as he explains, “Hala and Keon are starting at the top of the trail, so we should start at the bottom.” 

Moon follows him, struggling to keep up with his steps. He’s always been taller than her, which is infuriating enough, but when she visited home for the holidays after her first semester in Sinnoh only to find he’d hit his last growth spurt and towered over her, she was downright mad at him. 

She very nearly killed him when he got her a stepstool for her birthday last year. 

“Sounds good. Kukui said you guys managed to actually spot one a few hours ago.” 

“Yeah, closer to Iki Town.” He lets out a deep breath as they start up the trail, mindful of their steps and remembering all the times they came through here in high school and nearly fell face-first. “Confirmed it’s definitely something supernatural. They said the form is sort of like water...viscous, I guess, and totally black.” 

“Why can’t it ever just be regular dogs?” she mutters half-heartedly, sidestepping a tree root. 

Hau gives her a smirk. “Because then we’d be reduced to animal control – who, by the way, have given up, along with whatever Aether employees were lurking around.” 

“Small mercy.” 

They continue walking in silence for a moment, making slow progress as they navigate their way through the dark and keep their eyes peeled for any signs of movement along the trail. When their group had set up their own patrols in addition to Hala’s, they’d quickly decided against using any sort of light, just to avoid drawing unwanted attention and to try and get the jump on whatever it is they’re hunting. 

Moon sort of regrets that now, especially realizing her eyesight probably isn’t good enough to make out a dog amongst the trees in the darkness, but she at least knows her instincts are in top-shape when she can sense something approaching them on the trial. She looks up along with the druid next to her, both of them spotting two figures coming towards them, one slowly ambling down the path and another briskly walking. Hau recognizes the quickly approaching man to be Keon, and his lips are in the beginnings of a smile and greeting, only to be cut off. 

“Seriously? Now we have the Slayer breathing down our necks?” 

Keon stops in front of the two, glaring at Hau as his nostrils flare in irritation. 

Moon raises a brow, absolutely unimpressed as she rolls her eyes. “Nice to meet you, too.” 

The older man continues to ignore her, instead directing his ire at the younger druid as he continues, puffing up his chest and stepping closer in a challenge, “Do your little friends not trust us? Think we have something to hide?” 

“They’re just trying to help, Keon.” Hau keeps a smile in his voice, trying to diffuse the situation and keep Keon’s attention on him rather than snapping at Moon (who tends to snap back and snap harder). 

But his easygoing air does nothing to placate Keon, whose dark eyes are now ignited in fury, entire body taught as a bowstring waiting to shoot. “They can take their help and shove it right up their–” 

“You’re way out of line.” 

Keon and Moon blink, both surprised at the firmness of Hau’s tone. He only fixes the other druid with a hard stare, refusing to back down as he explains, “We need as many people on this, working together, to stop any more attacks. Even if they _ were _suspicious of us, you think yelling at the Slayer is going to do anything to change that?” 

It gets Keon to hunch a little, some of the annoyance ebbing out of his voice. “We’ve got it covered, Hau.” 

“And now we have it more covered. If you don’t trust them, then trust my judgment of them.” 

They stare at each other, daring the other to be the first to flinch. Moon looks between the two, and realizes that along with a growth spurt, Hau’s done plenty of other growing, remembering how easily he would fold to conflict in high school. It’s enough to put a proud smile on her face when Keon is the first to break, Hau continuing to watch him as the other nature spirit huffs, brushing past them both to continue down the path. 

At this point, the second figure reaches them. Hala slows to a stop in front of the pair with a frown. “Everything okay?” 

The Slayer glances back on the trail before turning to the kahuna with a smirk. “Yeah, Keon and I fell madly in love. We’re thinking a spring wedding.” 

“Who’s gonna break the news to Gladion?” 

Hau snickers at her flush, and it nearly turns into a full laugh when she scowls up at him. With a sigh, she mumbles, “I was going to praise your conflict resolution and leadership skills, but then you had to go and say that.” 

“I’m sorry about Keon. He’s been on edge since his sister was nearly attacked, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior.” Hala nods towards the Slayer, face twisted into an apology before he looks to his grandson, the worry lines around his eyes disappearing as he hums, “You handled it well from what I saw and heard, keiki.” 

“Thanks Tutu.” The smile he gives him is smaller than his usual, radiant but with the weight of a responsibility that he’s slowly beginning to shoulder with each passing day. 

Hala regards him a moment longer, a smile under his mustache before he nods at both of them and continues down the path, following after Keon with unhurried steps. “I’ll let you continue your patrol. Let me know if you see anything.” 

When the kahuna is out of earshot, Moon gives Hau a low whistle and congratulatory jab to the ribs, the young man laughing at her and feeling the slightest bit flustered under the praise. The two continue on up the path, steps a little lighter but eyes still focused. 

They stop when they reach the top of the trail, the old bridge before them, waterfall roaring lightly. 

Across the way, a pair of glowing eyes meets theirs. 

From out of the shadows, the forms of dogs rise up, nearly liquid even as they walk, each step melting into the ground. Their outlines are blurred by the night, but their eyes glow as they stare down the two from the other side of the bridge, a pack forming. 

Moon bites her cheek, stomach turning. “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.” 

“What’s the good news?” Hau mumbles, eyes still on the dogs as he realizes their tails seem more like plumes of smoke and a strange fog falls from their jaws, pouring out between their teeth. 

“I know what they are – hellhounds.” 

“Bad news?” 

“They can’t be destroyed, and need to be sent back to the netherworld dimension, which requires magic that neither of us have.” 

The two finally share a look, before their eyes snap back to the hellhounds, realizing that the first of them is slowly stepping onto the bridge. 

“Well, good thing I was just talking about teamwork.” 

* * *

_ Hau changed the name of the group to ‘K-9 Unit’ _

**From: Moon [18:19]**   
_wtf you said it was a bad joke _

**From: Moon [18:20]**   
_also they’re hellhounds _

**From: ****Hau**** [18:22]**   
_We’re at the bridge on Mahalo Trail!! Could _  
_ use some help, and Lillie’s magic <3_

**From: ****Gladion**** [18:23]**   
_How are you sending these texts AND fighting _  
_ off hellhounds? _

**From: Moon [18:25]**   
_it’s called multitasking flower boy _

**From: Lillie [18:25]**   
_I’m on my way!_

**From: Sun [18:27]**   
_im heading over too and I call saying _  
_ “who let the dogs out” _

**From: Moon [18:29]**   
_I'm literally begging you not to _

* * *

At a recent family dinner, Moon’s mom told her she swears too much; she thought it was an exaggeration, or a generational difference. 

Now, though, as she races down Mahalo Trail, desperate to put more distance between her and the snapping jaws of hellhounds while also trying not to trip over a rock and break her neck, her vocabulary has been reduced to a steady stream of “shit” in varying pitches and inflections. 

Her legs burn, not so much from the exertion but the bites that the hellhounds managed to get in after she offered herself up as bait, and before Hala’s tribe could hold back most of the dogs; tonight was definitely a bad night to wear shorts. She imagines their jaws feel like hellfire, but considering she has yet to visit that particular dimension, she’s not entirely certain. 

What she is certain of, and more than thankful to see, is that she’s near the bottom of the trail with three people running towards her. 

“Who let the dogs out?” Sun shouts as soon as he sees her, only to pause, brows furrowing as his eyes scan the trail behind her. “I thought there were dogs.” 

Moon finally comes to a stop, catching her breath but managing to say between pants, “Behind me. Hau’s leading the druids to slow them. We need a portal to hell.” 

Lillie nods, quick to pull a vial of black liquid out of her bag. “Leave it to me. Although, I could use some help.” 

“On it!” Sun follows her to the middle of the path, quickly clearing the ground of rocks and twigs as she sets to work on creating various symbols with the vial of liquid, concentration unwavering as she pours. 

Which leaves Gladion with Moon off to the side, and he’s quick to give her ragged form a once-over, gaze stopping at the combination bite-burn marks on her shins with narrowed eyes. “What happened to your legs?” 

“Turns out their bite is worse than their bark.” She tries not to wince, but when she shifts her weight she can feel a different set of muscles crying out. They’ll heal by morning, but for now it’s proving a little more difficult to stand than she realized, and the corners of her eyes prickle with tears that she’s quick to blink away. 

But she’s not quick enough to have it escape Gladion’s notice. He frowns, debating with himself for a moment as he glances around. There’s nothing she can sit on besides the dirt, which feels cruel after the chase she just went through. With a huff, he kneels and holds out his arms, not quite meeting her eyes as he mumbles, “Come here.” 

Her eyes widen as she realizes what he’s suggesting, but she bites her tongue and wordlessly walks to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he effortlessly lifts her. It’s a relief on her legs, but does nothing for her racing heart that’s still trying to come down from the adrenaline of the chase. 

She decides to conveniently leave out the point that she would definitely have been fine to just sit on the ground. 

And even though Sun and Lillie are hard at work on the portal, they do take a second to share a knowing look at the action, the witch sighing and the human shaking his head. 

With a final look over her work, Lillie nods, turning to the others with a polite smile. “And now if everyone can stand back.” 

Sun is quick to jump away, and Gladion shuffles back, doing his best to keep his balance even with Moon in his arms (and ignore just how warm she is). With everyone a safe distance away, Lillie turns back to the sigils on the ground, holding her hands out and mumbling Latin under her breath until the black marks begin to glow a dark red. They circle around the ground, and then a pit appears in the middle of them, darker than black and with an intense heat crawling out. 

Moon hears the pack of hounds first, glancing further up the trail with a smirk. “Right on time.” 

At the head of the pack, an out of place wolf, black as night but with a strangely green sheen to its coat, runs up ahead. The hellhounds behind it snarl and snap, thundering down the trail and after the wolf, who heads straight for the portal. At the last moment, the creature turns, dashing off to the side of the trail as the hellhounds continue, falling into the portal with strangled yips. When the last one slides in, unable to stop its momentum or turn, the portal closes behind it, leaving a quiet trail once more. 

The group looks at the wolf, who continues to stare back at them, and there’s a twinkle in its eyes that they swear is a smile. Lillie is the first to realize, taking a step towards the wolf with wide eyes. 

“Hau?” 

They watch in stunned silence as the wolf grins, body morphing into a human, leaving Hau standing before them. With an astonished laugh, Lillie runs up to him, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug as he chuckles. “Since when can you morph?” she asks, looking up at him in awe. 

“Since I actually started working on my powers.” He glances over at the others, smile faltering for a moment. “Was that weird?” 

As the other nature spirits make their way down the trail, Sun shakes his head, eyes sparkling as he gushes, “It was sick, dude. Do it again!” 

Their laughter is joined in by Hala, Leilani and the others. Before it dies completely, the kahuna turns, spotting someone and bringing them to the front of the group. 

Keon rubs at his arm, stepping towards Moon and subsequently, the vampire holding her in his arms. With a sigh, he finally looks up at her, still annoyed but with half of a smile on his face. 

“You’re not so bad, Slayer.” 

She raises a brow, voice drowned in sarcasm. “Wow Keon, still my beating heart and take me here and now.” 

Gladion scoffs, rolling his eyes as he scowls off to the side. Keon raises a brow at the face he pulls, looking back to Moon as he mumbles, “Your boyfriend doesn’t seem to appreciate that joke.” 

The two of them pale, Gladion’s grip on her tightening as Moon swallows hard, both of them realizing the trap they’ve set up for themselves as they rush to answer at the same time, stumbling over the words. 

“He’s not–” 

“She’s not–” 

“They’re not dating,” Sun clarifies with a deadpan. When Keon raises a brow, clearly disbelieving as he looks at the compromising position, Sun delights in his reaction, unable to keep from bursting out, “I know, right?” 

There’s another round of laughter, one that only further embarrasses the Slayer and vampire as they refuse to look at each other (but also don’t make a move to stop holding each other). 

As the others continue to tease the pair, Sun leading the charge on it, Lillie looks up at Hau with a fond smile, leaning up on her tip-toes to place a kiss on his cheek. 

“You’d make a great kahuna.” 

His eyes widen as he looks down at her, half-chuckling as he asks, “What makes you say that?” 

She hums, shrugging as she leans her head against his shoulder. “Everything.” 

And if he wasn’t serious about marrying her before, now he’s dead set on it, grinning from ear to ear as he leads her towards his tribe, Leilani and the others quick to introduce themselves and share their most embarrassing childhood stories of Hau with the witch. 

Mercifully, it also means everyone stops poking at Moon and Gladion. 

Which is all for the better, because he doesn’t let her walk home, carrying her all the way to the apartment even as he complains and she counters every quip with one of her own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little Hau-centric this time around, because Gladion isn't the only one with supernatural baggage to work through
> 
> along with bonus denial from the Lona dorks, but don't worry, they'll figure it out next chapter...


	21. fahrenheit 4,051

[[♪ Dinner & Diatribes - Hozier ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq5gesj6kmw)

Kiawe is used to the quiet dark of his home. It’s the pulsing beat in his ears that stirs him, makes him climb up the walls and look over the edge. 

The craggy mountain below, with its well-worn trails, shows no signs of life besides skittering lizards hiding amongst the dried grass. His eyes, glowing embers in the night, travel further to the horizon, where a familiar building sits, with an incredibly unfamiliar atmosphere. 

He thinks it must be music that he hears, with the even beats and syncopated melodies. Without realizing, his fingers start tapping on the rock, his leg is bouncing along with it, and he feels an urge to _move. _

To dance, actually, though he doesn’t quite realize that’s what it is. 

With a quick glance down, he realizes the rest of his family hasn’t noticed his absence. They’re used to it, used to him trying to test the bounds of their isolation despite their warnings. There’s a certain freedom to it, one he hasn’t dared to take before, but then he’s moving, his legs are climbing and he’s walking towards that beat with his fingers fidgeting the whole way. 

And if some of the grass he walks past begins to catch on fire, then he’s none the wiser, drawn like a moth to a flame to the pulsing colored lights. 

* * *

Gladion thought the music festival was bad. 

Turns out this nightclub is infinitely worse. 

The old Battle Royal Dome has since been repurposed after the fall from its glory days of being a center for pro wrestling. Instead, it’s recently reopened as Akala’s newest club, one of only a few scattered around Alola that isn’t overrun by tourists. 

With Burnet’s enthusiastic blessing and Kukui’s promise to take over any potential Slayer duties for the night, Lillie and Hau have dragged their group to check out the club the second weekend it’s been open in order to relax. 

How the hell he’s supposed to relax when he’s being deafened by music he doesn’t like and surrounded by bodies rapidly pumping blood is beyond Gladion. 

Still, it’s clear the others are enjoying themselves. Moon had helped Lillie get ready, who was more than eager to accept the assistance, seeing all of this as a chance to live out a part of her twenties that she never thought she would under their mother’s tyranny. Hau had supplied them with plenty of beer from the bar at their pregame, and Sun had more than enough enthusiasm for a distraction from the end of the world for all of them. Once they’d actually arrived, the others had made a beeline for the dancefloor, but Gladion hung back at the bar, trying to find a reason to stay. 

He found that reason very quickly once Moon started dancing in earnest. 

She loosened up after a few songs and another drink, shouting along to the lyrics with a brilliant smile on her face. Her body twisted in time with the music, hips swaying in hypnotic patterns as the hem of her dress lifted and fell like ocean tides. 

The rational part of his brain knew that Gladion was openly staring. 

But then she had caught his gaze, something dark and hungry taking over her eyes as she grinned at him, refusing to look away as her movements only became more serpentine, and that part of his brain promptly shut down. 

When her hands trace the curve of her hips and waist, he swallows hard and knows once and for all that he’s doomed and if he doesn’t look away now then he’ll tear through this club just to touch her. 

So he turns his head, only to end up looking directly into Sun’s face, far too close to his and with far too wide of a shit-eating grin. The vampire flinches, and Sun snickers, refusing to give him personal space as he asks, “So when are you guys getting together? Because I’m real close to losing this bet.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” he snaps, as though he doesn’t know exactly what Sun’s talking about. 

The human rolls his eyes, shaking his head but pushing through his disappointment. “Look, I know my sister, and she’s never looked at someone like she looks at you.” 

“And how does she look at me?” 

“Like she can’t believe you exist.” Gladion blinks, clearly not expecting that particular answer, but then Sun’s grinning again as he leans back and teases, “Or maybe she just wants to jump your bones. Either way, I need to win because twenty bucks is on the line.” 

With a huff, Gladion brushes past him, ignoring Sun’s protests about his twenty bucks as he heads for a side exit. His head is spinning, pounding with a headache from the music and Sun’s words. At this point, his mind is made up to leave, to head home before he combusts. 

But there’s a light touch on his arm and he can smell her perfume even before Moon asks over the music, “Everything all right?” 

He looks down at her, and it takes all his self-control to keep his eyes on her face and not trace the curve of her bare neck, the dip in her collarbones. If he didn’t know any better, he might think that her pulling her hair up to expose her neck was a deliberate move targeted at him. 

(And it was.) 

“Your brother is accosting me about the wedding he has planned for us.” 

She rolls her eyes, sighing, “Me too. Ignore him and don’t give him the satisfaction.” 

His throat is tight and it’s getting worse the longer he looks at her, so he turns his gaze to scan the rest of the club. “You seem like you’re having a good time.” 

“Wanna join?” She grabs one of his hands with both of hers, his eyes widening as her smile turns impish. With a light tug, she’s effortlessly leading him back out onto the dancefloor, teasing, “C’mon, you have to redeem yourself from Sandscript.” 

With an argument like that, how could he possibly say no? 

They weave past several other swaying bodies before finding a relatively empty space, at which point she turns and slowly winds her hands around his neck and he tries not to remember how it felt when they were in his hair. With an innocent enough smile, she moves from side to side, forcing him to follow as his hands go to her waist; he prays she doesn’t notice the tremble in them. 

Once they’re halfway through a song, he feels a little more confident, allowing his own hips to move as she gives him a wide smile and a laugh. She closes her eyes, and loses a little more of herself to the music, and with his hands sliding down he’s all the more aware of every roll of her hips. Still, he can handle this, can keep his head relatively clear. 

Then she turns and presses her back flush against his chest and her hips move just so and the last of his restraint has exited the building. 

He leans his head down, lips not quite on her neck and he can so clearly hear her gasp when his hands start roaming her sides and he’s moving against her. One of her hands moves up, fingers tangling into his hair to keep his face inches from hers; the other moves to cover one of his, their fingers intertwining as their arms wrap around her waist and pull her impossibly closer against him. For every one of his moves, her hips retaliate with something intoxicating, and he’s drowning in his favorite of her perfume, and he can hear her blood flowing, feels his face shifting as he opens his mouth, hot breath against her neck and– 

_ Stop. _

The single word strikes through the rest of his thoughts, and he’s stepping back, desperate to disentangle his body from hers as he shoves through the crowd in search of the exit. He misses the questioning look on Moon’s face, the crestfallen expression as she turns and searches for him in the mass of bodies. 

His hands are shaking as he shoves open a side door, uncaring if it sets off an alarm (but with some strange luck it doesn’t). The side of the building is empty, a single light illuminating the pavement. A breeze is passing through the area, one that the vampire is grateful for as his body collapses against the wall. He shuts his eyes tight, thankful that at least his face is shifting back, though his instincts are still firing off random commands, screaming at him. 

By the time the door opens next to him, he’s calmed down enough to handle one person. 

But that person is Moon and in the light he can see how well her dress hugs her body and he swears under his breath. 

She bites her lip, taking a half step towards him before stopping herself. “What happened?” 

He shuts his eyes, head hitting the wall as he manages to stammer, “Too many people. Too much blood pumping. Sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” Her voice is gentle, and her heels click as she walks to his side, a breath away as she asks, “Do you need to feed?” 

The laugh that falls from his lips is dangerous, all sharp edges and husky undertones. He opens his eyes, head rolling slightly to look at her, and the glint sends a shiver down her spine. 

“Considering the state of my self-control right now, I wouldn’t be able to stop.” 

It’s a warning, but she doesn’t heed it, stepping in front of him. Her hand traces lightly up his arm, and he swears the touch burns in a way he wants so much more of. She tilts her head, leaning up to whisper in his ear, “What else would you do without your self-control?” 

He looks at her with half-lidded eyes, his hands already going to her hips. 

“You’re playing with fire, Moon.” 

She smiles, tilting her head up, lips ghosting over his. 

“So burn me, Gladion.” 

His mouth is on hers in an instant, and this time he doesn’t have the excuse of an arrow, alcohol not even really a factor to blame. It’s not quite as rushed as the last kiss, a slower exploration as he pulls her close to him and memorizes the soft curves and muscles of her body against his. She takes delight in getting a moan from him with another tug on his hair, laughing when their lips part for a moment, breathy and ragged. 

Then his mouth moves to her neck, and he holds back just enough to keep from biting, instead sucking a dark mark just above her collarbone, and his name is a plea on her lips as she grips him tighter, her hips moving against his and everything is warm, everything is hot to the touch and– 

“This is going to sound like a bad line,” she pants, feeling her hair sticking to the sweat on her forehead as she furrows her brows, “But is it getting hot out here?” 

He lifts his head from her neck, equally confused. “Actually, yeah.” 

It’s sweltering now, no sign of an ocean breeze to give them reprieve from the sudden heat wave. They turn in the general direction of the heat, only to see a young man approaching the front entrance to the Battle Royal. 

A young man whose body is made of rock with muscles outlined by glowing magma as he walks. 

Most likely supernatural and as good a reason as any for them to blink out of their haze, even as the air around them literally heats up. 

Moon chews her cheek, hands on Gladion’s chest as she muses, “Should we tell the others about that?” 

“Probably.” 

“...should we leave out what happened out here?” 

They share a look, and he’s clearing his throat as she’s stepping back to a safe, restrained distance. 

“Definitely.”

* * *

_ While evidence of _ _ancient _ _human sacrifice has been found at Wela Volcano Park, we would just like to reiterate to visitors that we do not generally condone such activities. _

** _ Excerpt from a promotional pamphlet for Wela Volcano Park _ **

* * *

As it turns out, they don’t have to get the others because moments after the volcanic young man enters the club, their friends come tumbling out, already drenched in sweat and nearing heat exhaustion. A few other Battle Royal patrons exit into the night, desperately fanning themselves and in search of water. However, it seems that plenty of others are willing to stick out the rising temperatures, leaving the group mostly to themselves on the side of the building as Sun scrolls through his grimoire app. 

If he wasn’t, then he might’ve been the one to notice the hickey above his sister’s collarbone and start asking some questions. 

“Here it is.” He turns his phone around, revealing a page with a sketch of a similar creature to the one they just saw, deceptively humanoid. “I’m 90% sure he’s a cherufe. They’re made of magma and rock, and usually dwell in volcanos. A few have been recorded at Wela. Says here they usually need human sacrifices to calm down.” 

Lillie raises a brow. “Anything about dancing?” 

“Nope.” 

“Weird, because he’s really good,” Hau mumbles, remembering the glimpses he caught of the cherufe before wondering how he managed to get in without a shirt and then feeling the heat wave threatening to give him a stroke. 

Sun hums, glancing over at the side door back into the club as he slides his phone back into his pocket. “He kind of just seems like he’s looking to party.” 

“What if we just...shift the party back to the volcano?” 

The others look to Moon, who has her arms up in half-surrender, half-brainstorm, and then they turn their gaze to the volcano in the distance. Wela Park is relatively close by, but certainly not enough for the club’s speakers to reach for a proper dance party. 

“We’d need a sound system,” Gladion mumbles. 

“There’s a spell for that.” Lillie chuckles at the thought, shaking her head and resigning herself to the fact this is her life now, has been for a while (and truthfully, she doesn’t think she’d have it any other way). “Never thought I would need it, and certainly didn’t think this scenario would happen, but I have a spell for that.” 

Moon nods, heading for the side door with resolution in every step. “Start it up and I’ll get him out here.” 

“How are you gonna do that?” Sun asks, raising a brow. 

His sister turns before opening the door, giving him a smirk. “Dancing with him while looking like this.” 

Gladion opens his mouth to argue that it’s a half-baked plan at best, only to shut his mouth when he remembers that it managed to work pretty well on him earlier. 

Then she’s closing the door behind her, leaving the others to stand back and wait as Lillie closes her eyes, palms of both her hands turned upwards to the sky. They can see something like soundwaves pulsing around them, and a generic dance beat is filling the air, channeled from a radio station, steadily growing louder. It reaches its peak just in time for the side door to open once more, Moon laughing as she looks behind her, where a man of magma follows. 

She learned his name was Kiawe, that this was his first time at a club, first time dancing, even, but not much else. Still, the cherufe is grinning wide, body relaxed as his arms move through the air with every step, carefree as can be. 

The heat is awful as they slowly start moving towards Wela Volcano Park, and so Hau summons a chilled wind, driving the worst of the heat wave off of them as sweat forms once more on their group’s skin. Moon keeps Kiawe occupied, the two smiling as they dance along to the music Lillie’s conjured up. Gladion tries to keep his eyes on the ground as he hangs back, he really does, but they keep snapping up and sticking to Moon, watching as she effortlessly toys with his self-control with every twist of her hand and shimmy of her hips. 

He’s so lost in it that he doesn’t register Sun walking beside him, also looking at his sister, but with a brow raising. 

“Is that a hickey?” 

_ Be subtle. _

“No,” Gladion huffs, far too quick, sure, and indignant to be casual. 

_ Or not, _he thinks with an internal groan, avoiding Sun’s narrowed eyes and his ears burning when they hear Hau’s snicker. 

As their motley group travels down the main road to the national park, it’s a small wonder they don’t attract the attention of anyone looking to file a noise complaint. They do, however, attract the attention of a few nymphs, who poke their heads out of their hiding spots among the rocks of the nearby beach. The Slayer notices, smiling as she gestures for them to join in, and soon enough their group has doubled in size, a strange sort of party train sneaking into Wela Park. 

Sun isn’t quite dancing, instead seeming to add notes into his grimoire app, too absorbed in observing the nymphs and cherufe to notice a cloud of pink and black smoke forming nearby. 

Ilima grins at the sight, deciding this is right up his alley and glad that he was in another house close by to hear the music and sense someone’s overbearing sexual tension. His eyes catch on a young human man with pretty gray eyes, and with no hesitation he grabs Sun’s hand, whispering something to him that has the boy blushing from ear to ear, and the two join the mass of dancing bodies. 

Kiawe, meanwhile, has a smile bright enough to rival the magma flowing in his body. He’s never been surrounded by so many others outside of his family, and the music is still guiding his movements as he laughs along with the nymphs and Moon. By the time they enter the park and start up the trail to the top of the dormant volcano, his energy is at an all-time high. 

Moon’s however, is beginning to dip, and she subtly slips her way towards the back of the crowd, giving her a chance to stop dancing and catch her breath. It also lands her next to Gladion, who’s kept to simply walking, and she gives him a smirk. “Are you taking up the role of party grump?” 

He frowns, his steps slowing along with hers as they fall further and further away from the rest of the group. “I don’t dance.” 

She raises a brow. “You were dancing with me before.” 

“You asked nicely.” 

“Then this is me asking nicely again.” The Slayer stops in front of him, forcing him to look down at her, his eyes widening when one of her hands uses his belt to yank him towards her, the other grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him down as she purrs into his ear with the undertones of a growl, “Or do you like it when I’m bossy?” 

The whimper that escapes him is needy, pitched, and embarrassingly loud. 

She pulls back, dropping her hands as she stares at how he’s biting his bottom lip with wide, dilated eyes, seemingly surprised at his reaction – a little odd, because he’s not sure how she’d expect anyone to _not _react with her whispering something like that with her hand on their belt. 

“We should head up.” Her voice is raspy, enough that she has to clear her throat, a flush crawling up her neck as she turns to continue up the path. 

But his voice is absolutely wrecked, his own gaze still foggy and unfocused as he mumbles, “Y-yeah.” 

By the time they reach the top, the others have settled on making the platform of the volcano an improvised dancefloor. Kiawe scans the crowd, several other cherufe with a striking resemblance to him at his side, and then his eyes land on Moon as she walks up. He grins, waving her over, and she gives a weak smile as she heads toward his group, doing her best to fall into polite conversation with the family of cherufe, who are more than happy, albeit confused, to greet the Slayer. 

Gladion, on the other hand, feels his feet stumble, nearly tripping over himself as he steps onto the volcano. With any luck, everyone else is too distracted to notice his state. 

No such luck, though, as he immediately catches the eye of a familiar incubus who has no doubt sensed the less than pure thoughts that are plaguing his mind. 

Ilima fixes him with a knowing smirk. 

“Knew she had a thing for blonds.” 

The vampire is glad his heart stopped beating, otherwise he’s certain he’d have suffered cardiac arrest. 

* * *

They did end up getting a noise complaint, but it was easy enough to deal with when the park ranger who came to warn them caught sight of the plethora of supernatural creatures and fainted on the spot. 

It worked as a cue for their party to break up, though, the nymphs carrying the poor ranger back to the station as the cherufes went back into their volcano after Kiawe made the Slayer and her friends promise to come visit him to dance once the apocalypse was taken care of. 

Then their group had split up, and the walk home for Moon and Gladion was excruciatingly silent and reminiscent of a middle school dance with the safe distance they maintained from each other and the awkward small talk they quickly gave up on. 

When they reach the apartment, Moon is quick to dive into her room, mumbling something about getting some sleep as she slams the door shut behind her. Gladion is left in the living room, and his nerves have caught up to him by now as he sits on the couch, leg bouncing as he thinks of what to do with the rest of the night and only seeming to come up with ideas that involve the woman in the bedroom a few yards away and compromising positions. 

Which is stupid, because tonight was a fluke. He can chalk it up as a strange stress relief for both of them, or the heat got to their heads, because this can’t happen again, not with her. 

A monster doesn’t deserve someone like her. 

But then she said he wasn’t a monster just the other week, and he can still feel her wrapped around him, can picture that tauntingly short hemline; he sits back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling as his nails dig into his palms and he hangs onto his discretion and reminds himself of all the reasons knocking on her door is a bad idea. 

The bedroom door creaks open and he glances over, trying to compose his face once more as he stands. Moon steps out, seemingly only in an oversized band shirt for Roxie that he recognizes as his, and must have gotten mixed up into her things when they last did laundry. 

It looks a lot better on her and the realization that she may only be wearing that shirt just isn’t fair. 

“I thought you were going to sleep.” Why can’t he get the desperate, hungry edge out of his tone even in that simple statement? 

“I am, I just...” She fidgets with the bottom of the shirt, not meeting his gaze as she steadies herself with a deep breath. He takes a few steps towards her, but forces himself to stop a few feet away when she looks back up at him, biting her lip. “We should probably talk. About earlier. About what happened at the club and the whole, um, ‘getting together’ thing everyone keeps bringing up.” 

He forces a laugh, forces himself to listen to the voice of reason that’s been chastising him for hours now. “No need. It’s completely ridiculous, right?” 

And it’s odd that instead of laughing along with him, her shoulders deflate and her voice dips into the slightest hint of disappointment. “Right, completely.” 

“I mean, a Slayer and a vampire?” he continues, unable to stop, because if he stops and thinks about it, he’ll realize just how well she fits into his life, “We were made to destroy each other.” 

She lets out a half-hearted chuckle at that, crossing her arms. “We’ve sort of been the exceptions to the rule so far.” Then she looks up, face growing somber as she tells him plainly, an earnest plea, “You know I never want to hurt you, right?” 

His lips part, because some subconscious part of him has realized that, but it’s different to hear the words materialize, to see her so close and looking up at him like she’d cradle his face in her hands if he was any closer. 

For the first time in years and with nothing more than a few words, she’s made him feel safe. 

Moon looks back down, shifting her weight and tracing the wood grain on the floor with her foot. “Listen, I um, I’ve been thinking, working through my own hang-ups about what I want, what I deserve, and uh,” she stammers, and she realizes that she needs to stop, needs to face this head-on like the rest of her life because it’s the least she can give him. With another deep breath and before she can psych herself out, she looks up at him and admits, “I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” 

The silence deafens her, and her stomach twists with the full weight of what she’s saying. She’s quick to backtrack, unable to hold his stunned gaze. “But I understand if you don’t feel the same. And I probably just made things really awkward, so, um, don’t mind me.” 

With a flash of finger guns that she immediately regrets and will haunt her for the rest of her life, she mumbles a good night he doesn’t hear and goes back into her room. 

He stands outside her door, gaping at the empty air and with her words still ringing in his ears. 

She wants him, used “deserve” like she had read his mind or maybe she’s just struggling with the same weight he’s been trying to carry by himself. 

And he stood there staring at her like an idiot as she said it, tried to laugh the whole thing off. 

Gladion can count the good things that have come to him in life on one hand, and the longer he stands here thinking, the clearer it becomes that Moon is one of them, and for all his talk of why they can’t possibly be together, they’ve sure done a terrible job of trying to be apart. 

He steps forward and knocks on her door. 

When it opens, she’s surprised, but opening her mouth to say something so he’s quick to cut her off. “I didn’t mean_ completely _ridiculous, I just...” The worlds fail him just like they usually do, and he huffs, running a hand through his hair, feeling something still holding him back. “Shit, I don’t know.” 

“Gladion, it’s okay if you don’t–” 

“I do.” He swallows hard, and her lips part, eyes widening as he whispers, “I want you.” 

A shiver runs down her spine, and his eyes follow it before they go back to hers, holding her stare as they both try not to lean in. He clears his throat, begging his voice to still be there. 

“I have for a while. I want you more than I’ve ever dared to want for anything.” But then his face is falling, and his gaze drops. “And I want you, but where does that really get us?” 

One of them is still undead, meant to last for eternity, while the other has a beating heart that will burn brightly but quickly. The end is nigh, with no guarantee that they’ll come out on top even without distractions. In a way, it feels like the universe is screaming no at them, and it’s not exactly star-crossed but it’s aching and doomed all the same. 

She takes a deep breath, slowly nodding as she feels her body going numb at the realization. “Right. You’re right, I know. It would just make things so much more complicated.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“I am, too.” And they know they both are, but it hurts all the same when she looks up at him with what she can muster of a smile and asks hopefully, “Still friends, though, right?” 

His answer is quick where once he would have hesitated. “Always.” 

“Okay. Friends.” But the word feels wrong, and her hand is on the door but she can’t shut it, feeling a dreadful finality tying itself up into the action. She holds his stare a moment longer, memorizing the angles of his face as she mumbles, “Good night.” 

“Night.” 

The door closes again and he turns, his body heavy as he drops onto the couch, laying on his back as he stares up at the ceiling and feels an awful déjà vu wash over him. If he’s a good man, he’ll accept this for what it is, a fleeting moment of something nice that was never meant to be his. 

But he’s not just a good man; he’s also a monster, one that knows what he wants and takes it, one that can indulge, one that is so scared to lose her before she can even be his. 

He stands, pacing to keep time with his now racing thoughts. She told him that at every turning point, he’s made the selfless decision – what if at this one, he decides to be a little selfish? If not now, then when? He has an eternity ahead of him, and he can’t spend it waiting on the next best thing, regretting when he played a saint for no reason other than to punish himself. 

He can’t even go another minute just thinking of her dancing, of her laugh, of her hand on his belt. 

His feet bring him to her door and he raises his hand to knock when it opens. 

She’s standing there, gaze downright lustful and in disarray as her breath wracks her body, and clearly, he isn’t the only one who’s made a decision. They stare at each other for a moment, a thick silence smothering their voices, an ounce of restraint spreading itself thin between them. 

And then it snaps and he’s lunging forward as she grabs his shoulders, lips crashing and bodies writhing against one another. At some point he lifts her and she wraps her legs around his waist, his mouth moving to her neck as he licks and sucks the bare skin, urged on by her breathy moans right in his ear as her hips begin to move. He’s stumbling into the room and she’s whispering something that has him growling as his grip on her legs tightens, the bedroom door swinging shut behind them. 

It’s a miracle they even make it to the bed. 

And it’s an even bigger miracle they don’t break the bed with everything they do afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, spraying Moon and Gladion with the holy water spray bottle: stop. being. horny.
> 
> but yeah I write garlic cloves for the plot


	22. mother I'd like to fight

[[♪ you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za8Ki4CCXgg)

As a thank you for making their night out possible, Hau and Lillie are spending their evening keeping an eye on Nebby and watching movies while Burnet and Kukui have a date. It’s been a peaceful night so far, with Lillie curled up into Hau’s side, a blanket around her shoulders, and Hau sits with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. Nebby has been content to either settle on Hau’s shoulders, or float around the house, still finding so many mundane things fascinating – his latest obsession has been the microwave. 

The credits roll on their third rom-com in a row; they hadn’t meant to start a marathon, but then Lillie mentioned she hasn’t seen many and after seeing how much she enjoyed the first one, Hau can’t help but pull out his laundry list of favorites to show her. 

It also might have given him a good opportunity for him to subtly ask what she thought about marriage (and she might have mentioned something about wanting something like it with him). 

But it also covered up the sound of a window opening. 

When his hand hits the bottom of the bowl, finding only non-popped kernels left, he looks at her with a smile. “Want more popcorn?” 

“Yes please.” She shifts, allowing him to get up, before settling back into the couch and reaching for the remote to scroll through their movie options. 

In the kitchen, he sets the bowl down on the counter and grabs another bag of popcorn from their dwindling pile of snacks. He’d sort of expected to find the Cosmog here, seeing as the creature had floated off a little while ago - it wasn’t much to worry about, but it’s strange to not see him examining the microwave. 

After glancing around at the rest of the living space, he realizes he actually doesn’t see the UB anywhere. 

“Hey...where’s Nebby?” 

Lillie sits up straighter on the couch, pausing her scrolling as she feels a pit of anxiety taking root in her chest. She stands, walking past Hau as he climbs up to the loft office to check, and the witch calls out, “Nebby?” 

Then her eyes catch on the open window at the back of the house, and she knows for a fact they were all closed not half an hour ago. Her steps quicken, and she looks out just in time to see a vampire with neon yellow hair luring Nebby to the edge of the beach, only for three others to jump out and shove the UB into a sack. 

“Nebby!” 

She aims a bolt of lightning towards them, but it’s hard to aim at this distance and she doesn’t want to hurt the Cosmog, so her spell goes wide and the Skull grunts go running towards the forest. 

Hau’s climbed down from the loft now, hearing her earlier scream and about to ask what’s wrong when she’s running to the back door, throwing it open and running as fast as she can. He follows wordlessly, quick to spot the retreating forms of the Skulls, but they’re weaving around trees and no matter how many branches he tries to manipulate in their path, it doesn’t seem to slow their pace. 

“Nebby!” 

By the time they reach the edge of the woods, the Skulls are completely out of sight, and Lillie finds her body shutting down, legs folding under her as she falls to her knees on the grass. 

Her eyes prickle with tears, and her body shakes with the sob she holds back when the full weight of their failed chase hits her in the chest. Hau crouches behind her, arms wrapping around her as she stares listlessly into the forest. 

Nebby was her responsibility. 

And she failed the poor little UB. 

Lips press against her temple, Hau’s voice soothing but urgent as he mumbles, grounding her, “We’ll get him back. Let’s call the others; we just need to figure out where they’re taking him.” 

Now she’s thinking, thinking, thinking, trying desperately to understand why the Skulls would take Nebby, unless it was for her mother, and unless his teleportation powers– 

Her eyes widen at the realization, and the pit of anxiety in her chest blooms, spreading across her body as she feels herself go numb. 

“Aether Paradise.” She looks up at Hau, her face pale and throat scratched raw from shouting as she whispers, “They’re taking him to Aether – Nebby is the key.” 

* * *

Lusamine crouches in front of the glass container, observing the cowering creature trapped inside. She nearly sneers, wondering how the key between this world and Ultra Space can take such a pathetically weak, pathetically emotional form. 

Her thoughts are interrupted by an approaching scientist, her head and body covered by a sleek white hazmat suit. “We’re nearly ready to begin.” 

“Excellent.” Lusamine straightens, watching the scientist walk back to the others, her eyes trailing to the area several yards away where she can see the team fussing over machinery and panels. Wicke watches them all with her clipboard in hand as she adjusts her glasses. 

With a turn on her heel, Lusamine faces the only others left in the room with her. Several Skull grunts cower before her, none of them daring to meet her eyes. Guzma stands off to the side of them, watching her every move as she lifts a hand, waving them off towards the main exit. “Leave.” 

They do so without another word, but their leader remains in place, eyes flickering between his coven members and the woman in front of him. 

“Are you sure? I can–” 

“Guzma.” Her voice is sharper than he’s ever heard it, nearly drawing blood as she turns her full gaze to him. Gone is any of the previous warmth, any of her polite smiles. “I fear you misunderstand the nature of our relationship.” 

She steps towards him, and he holds his ground, hands clenching into fists as she makes him feel smaller than he has in centuries with just her glare. 

“When I say jump, you say ‘how high?’ When you bring me the key, you don’t bring it in some old sack with the creature still conscious. When I tell you to take out the Slayer, you don’t fail me time and time again.” If her eyes are a knife, then her voice is a hammer, shattering the last of his nerves as she comes to a stop before him. “And when I tell you to leave, you leave. Do I make myself clear?” 

He swallows, and he swears he can hear Plumeria in his head, can recount all her warnings word for word. His stomach drops along with the illusion that he was ever in control here, that Lusamine ever really saw him as an equal. 

“Crystal.” 

“Excellent.” She turns, walking back to the machine Nebby’s been hooked up to as she sighs, “Now go, and prepare your useless grunts. Since they managed to be spotted, I suspect we’ll have the Slayer visiting us soon. We should be good hosts.” 

His steps fade as he leaves, and after another disdainful look at the UB trapped in glass, she turns to look at her team. Wicke catches her eye, turning to the scientist on her right, who says something, before looking back at Lusamine and nodding. 

Her hands glow green as she calls forth her magic, and she keeps her eyes focused on the empty air in the middle of the machine they’ve created, a mass of metal bracketing the space where they’ll summon their largest portal to Ultra Space yet. 

“Begin.” 

The machine crackles to life, engines whirring, and Nebby lets out a cry of pain. A tear in their dimension appears, slowly growing to the size of the machine, and she can see the cold expanses of Ultra Space, can hear the cries of Nihilego and Pheromosa. 

It’s larger than their usual, but only marginally so, and Lusamine brings her hands up, green energy shooting forth at the portal. She feels her body shaking with the force, can hear the machinery struggle to keep up with the demand. The portal stretches ever so slowly, but she can feel herself reaching the very limits of her magic and it’s not enough. 

Then the UB is giving a final cry, her body folds on itself, and the engines shut off. The portal disappears quickly, draining the room of the last of its noise. 

Lusamine is on the ground, curled up and still as death. 

“Leave me.” 

Her voice is a quiet, broken thing, and the scientists waver, slowly standing from their seats and glancing at each other. 

She looks up at them, eyes red and black veins stretching across her face as she screeches, a banshee made flesh, _ “G _ _ O !__”_

There’s a mad dash towards the exit, the team all too aware that she’s seconds from a tantrum, and anyone unlucky enough to still be here will be torn to shreds along with anything else she can get her hands on. Wicke follows them, but stops to unplug the glass container and carry Nebby out – she won’t be able to get the poor UB out of Aether will all the security, but she can at least soothe the creature for the time being, whispering apologies to him as he shivers in fright and exhaustion. 

When the door slams shut, Lusamine holds herself a moment longer. 

Then she snaps. 

Her screams fill the air as she stands, tearing at wires and metal, chants of “why why _why__” _punctuating every table she throws, every machine she tears out of the ground. 

Everything gets taken away from her, everything is always ripped from her no matter what she does, who she becomes. 

As her body heaves with a sob, her hand slamming a chair against the ground and watching in sick satisfaction as it smashes to pieces, she feels a familiar spite greeting her like an old friend, a smile stretching her lips though it won’t reach her eyes. 

She will set this world on fire, no matter who she has to use as the matchstick. 

* * *

It was Sun’s idea to steal – borrow, he preferred – a boat from the Melemele courier station, and with him sweet-talking his supervisor into allowing it, along with distracting the man from the group sneaking onto the boat behind them, it went as smoothly as it could. 

So that became the easy part, but it only frayed their nerves more as they crossed the sea towards Aether Paradise, not knowing exactly what lay up ahead, but knowing it could only go downhill from here. 

Sun steers the boat, gripping the wheel tightly to not betray his obvious nerves. His eyes dart between the horizon of night before them and the nail-bat resting on the console at his side. 

There isn’t much in the way of seating on the boat, so the others make do with what they have. Lillie sits atop an old crate in the back, Hau with her and rubbing her back in soothing circles as the two whisper. The guilt has been gnawing at the witch, but with an undercurrent of anxiety that only builds the longer they spend on the water (and therefore the closer they get to Aether). 

Burnet and Kukui lean against the back railing, the two fiddling carefully with the crossbow in Burnet’s hands. He’s chewing his cheek, going over the best technique for holding and aiming, various safety measures, and she listens with a smile and nod, knowing he’s just rambling to keep his mind busy. 

Moon stands next to them, arms crossed and gaze on her boots as she loses herself in her thoughts. She’s never actually seen Lusamine in person, but considering everything she’s learned so far, she knows she’s a force to be reckoned with. If Guzma is a challenge, then Lusamine is the fourth circle of hell, and even with her training and practice and friends fighting alongside her, Moon isn’t sure if she’ll be enough. They can’t afford to lose tonight, but considering they don’t have any aces up their sleeve, it might take a small miracle to win. 

She wonders if she should have brought the Sun Flute anyway. 

Her thoughts are interrupted when she senses Gladion moving next to her. When she looks up, he’s walking towards the front of the boat silently. He’s been quiet the entire boat ride, staying by her side but not looking at her, not looking at anyone really as he frowned and thought. 

He stands with his hands against the front railing, gripping them tightly as he stares straight ahead. She walks to his side, her eyes immediately drawn to how his fingers fidget, and then his furrowed brows as she carefully observes his face, making out what she can in the night. 

Once, he claimed that he was ready to get this over with, to face his mother and take her down. 

Clearly, it’s a little more complicated than that. 

There’s also the fact that he hasn’t been back to Aether since he ran away two years ago. She doesn’t know what he went through while he lived there, though the glimpses of his life he told her about in the early light of dawn this morning were enough to sink her heart with pity. 

She can’t stand just looking at him for much longer, and so she gently places a hand over one of his, feeling it tremble. He looks down at her; now she can see it, the fear he’s been trying to hide, the scars of a childhood that was stolen from him. 

“How are you feeling?” she whispers, unsure what to do, what to say. 

“Complicated.” He sighs, but his hand isn’t shaking anymore, and his voice is just a little lighter when he adds, “But not alone.” 

His hand lets go of the railing in favor of properly holding hers, fingers interlacing as he squeezes. They stay like that, and she holds his hand tighter when Aether Paradise begins to come into view, an out of place spot of white on the horizon. 

As they get closer, they head back towards the others. The group gathers close to Sun, whose jaw is clenched as Kukui looks around them, grip tightening on his bō staff and knowing there’s no use in going over the plan yet again, but feeling the need to say something, to provide some small comfort as they head into the unknown. 

“Remember, focus on moving, not fighting – our priority is finding Nebby and all getting out.” His eyes stick on the Slayer for a moment, and then he sighs, “I probably shouldn’t be saying this as a Watcher, but no one be a hero, okay? We’re not losing anyone, not on my watch.” 

Then they open the trapdoor to the bottom of the boat, a cramped space that will barely fit all of them. Sun slows down the boat, waiting to pull around to the docks until all of them are inside, Burnet giving him a thumbs-up before pulling down the trapdoor once more. 

It’s easy enough to dock, but the real challenge comes in keeping his breathing regulated when two Aether employees immediately approach him, clearly on edge and expecting them. 

But then he’s just a regular courier, and he settles into it, giving them a smile even as the taller employee drawls, “You don’t have permission to dock here.” 

“Really? That’s wild, because I have a delivery for you guys.” 

The employees share a look, hands ghosting over the batons at their hips, but they simply turn back to him. “Impossible.” 

“No, it’s definitely addressed to Aether Paradise.” He sighs, leaning against the side railing. “Look, I just need someone to sign for it.” 

“Show us.” 

They board the ship, Sun tapping his fingers against his leg as he watches. He turns, leading them to the trapdoor and stepping behind it. The pair from Aether lean forward, impatient and curious as he gives the trapdoor a single knock and then opens it. 

Lillie and Hau’s hands pop out, startling the employees who go for their batons – it proves useless when seconds later two turrets of water from the dock grab them, tossing them overboard. 

Everyone quickly climbs out from below deck, Sun grabbing his nail-bat and Moon preparing her stake as the group sneaks through the docks. Large shipping crates provide ample cover from the Skull grunts in their path, and it helps that none of the vampires seem particularly enthused to be here, more interested in their own conversations than properly keeping watch. 

However, the elevator has two Skull members guarding it, so Burnet takes out an arrow from the quiver on her back and loads up her crossbow. 

Two arrows sink into one of the vampire’s chest, and rather than stick around to fight whoever did it, the grunt runs off, leaving the other to shout after them. He turns just in time to see their group running for the elevator, Sun leading the charge and making an easy target for a lunge. 

Up until Moon’s hand shoots out in front of her brother, sinking the stake directly into the vampire’s heart and turning him into a pile of dust. 

They pile onto the elevator, a platform with glass walls, and it’s easy enough to press the button for the main office floor. Unfortunately, once they get there, several Aether employees are waiting for them, crouched and batons at the ready, tips covered in a viscous blue that can only be poison from a Nihilego. 

Sun is still at the front of the group, and once the glass door opens, he quickly knocks the first employee out with his bat, then ducks to avoid the swing of another’s baton, while taking the baton now on the ground and using it to hit another employee in the throat. 

A third grunt is sneaking up on him but Gladion grabs their shoulders from behind, throwing them across the hall. As the others make a dash for the other end of the hallway, Kukui knocks out the last one with his bō staff, using it to knock the baton out of the woman’s hands before shoving her to the ground and pressing the staff to her throat until she passes out. 

He’s quick to catch up with the rest of the group, Hau summoning wind to knock any approaching vampires back while Lillie shoots rays of frost at Aether employees. 

When they reach the elevator, Gladion is quick to try his old tricks on the console, but with no luck as the elevator refuses to respond. Clearly, someone’s upgraded their security, leaving them with only one other option. 

“We need to find someone with a key card,” he tells the others, but as soon as the words leave his mouth, the elevator whirs to life, the platform beginning to descend from a higher floor. 

“Or someone with a key card finds us,” Moon mumbles, body tensing as she prepares for yet another fight before they even reach Nebby. 

When the platform comes into sight, a single figure in a pink sweater stands in the center, and suddenly Gladion and Lillie are relaxing, the others following their lead as the glass doors slide open and the witch rushes forward to hug the woman. 

“Wicke!” The woman smiles down at Lillie, who pulls back, face somber as she asks, “Are you all right?” 

Wicke sighs, looking between the two siblings and relieved to see them, but distressed that it’s here of all places, and not in a more peaceful aftermath. “I’m unharmed, but I wish I could do so much more.” She turns to the others, looking amongst them and taking in the few bruises already beginning to form, shaking her head as she explains, “She’s guarding the key herself, along with Guzma. As you’ve probably guessed, she’s expecting you, and she’s far gone at this point. There’s no telling what she’ll do.” 

Gladion gives her a grateful smile, though it’s tired at the edges. “Thank you, Wicke.” 

“No, thank you all.” Before she steps aside, she takes one of Lillie’s hands in her own, pressing a folded note into it, looking at her with a plea in her eyes as she says, “And please, please be careful.” 

But no one can promise her that and expect to keep it, so instead they step onto the platform, glass doors sliding closed as Wicke types in the code for the private gallery into the console. 

She watches as they disappear from sight, crossing the point of no return. 

* * *

_ As always, I dedicate my work to my wife and children, as without their love and support I would not be able to continue in my explorations. _

** _ Feasibility of a Full-Scale Wormhole Generator to Initiate Human Contact with Ultra Space by Professor Mohn, The _****_Alola_****_ Aerospace Journal, Issue 45 _ **

* * *

The private gallery at Aether Paradise is a long, well-lit room of white marble. Often, it would host exclusive events for donors and staff, sitting unused most of the year while holding various plaques and awards that the organization had garnered. 

Now, it holds large tanks of cryogenically frozen Ultra Beasts, the creatures’ bodies twisted into dynamic, unnatural poses, frozen in time with eyes wide open. 

As they step off the elevator, their steps echo in the cavernous ceiling, their bodies dwarfed by the tank that stretches over thirty feet in the air to house a Celesteela, floating arms bent at odd angles. 

There’s a stagnation to it all that feels like a different form of rot. 

Lillie breaks their silence with a small gasp, her hand gripping at her chest. “Nebby!” 

Several yards away, on a white pedestal, Nebby floats in a glass container, eyes widening when he sees their group before releasing a few distressed chimes that sound nearly like crying. Lillie feels her own eyes water, but before she can rush to him, Moon holds out an arm, giving her a concerned look, urging her to stay back. 

Her instincts that it’s a trap prove correct when a moment later, from somewhere in the rafters, someone drops to the ground, a small crater forming where they land. 

Guzma stands, his eyes locking onto the Slayer, and where once she might have found unhinged delight, instead there’s a burning fury in his eyes, the sort that comes from deep within and has little to do with her. 

“You really walked straight into this?” he barks, his gaze traveling over the others before he throws his hands up in the air, shaking his head. “Y’all are stupid!” 

“I know you are, but what am I?” 

Guzma blinks, looking to Sun, who doesn’t quite regret saying it, if only because it at least makes the air breathable for a moment, throws everything off just enough that they can forget what’s really at stake for a second. 

But then the leader of the Skulls is glaring once more, walking towards Moon with misguided purpose. 

“Lil Slayer, you’re threatening to break my streak and take away my title.” He crouches, getting ready to pounce as he growls, “So how’s about I end you once and for–” 

An arrow launches into his shoulder, and it doesn’t quite hurt him but it does stun him, sending him stumbling back with the force as he looks at it, wide-eyed. When he glances back over, Burnet is stepping in front of Moon, holding up her crossbow with a smirk. 

“Yeah, I don’t think so buddy.” 

Kukui steps up to her side, bō staff in both hands and ready to block as he says resolutely, “If you want to get to her, you’ll have to go through us.” 

Guzma blinks at the shake-up, and then he’s grabbing the arrow and yanking it out with a grunt, tossing it aside as both his arms transform, a pincer and poison and so much less of himself. 

“Gladly.” 

He launches himself at them, Hau summoning a gust of wind to push the vampire off to the side, joining in the fight to help better the odds as Burnet loads up her crossbow and Kukui thrusts his staff into Guzma’s gut when he comes running at the trio. 

The others cautiously approach the pedestal housing Nebby’s cage, all too aware that a key player has yet to show herself. 

Heels click against marble, even over the sounds of the fight behind them. 

Lusamine appears from behind a Buzzwole tank, a perfect image of stasis even as she walks. Her face doesn’t move an inch, her hair is still, and it seems like even the fabric of her clothing won’t slide against her skin. 

The two pairs of siblings stop, watching her as she approaches with a hum. “I must say, I’m almost impressed that you’ve made it this far.” Her steps come to a halt when she’s a few feet away, and her eyes settle on the Slayer, a smile stretching her lips as she purrs, “Oh, how rude of me, we haven’t even met. I’m Lusamine. I’ll be the one destroying the world.” 

If it was meant to be a threat, it’s wasted on the young woman as she stands straighter, gripping her stake tighter in her hand as she smirks. 

“I’m Moon. I’ll be the one saving it.” 

And it breaks Lusamine’s symmetry, her stillness, as her face twists in anger and disgust. She lunges past the pedestal, directly towards Moon, but Sun is at her side and raising his bat, bringing it down right on Lusamine’s face. It scratches harshly against her cheek, the woman stumbling sideways, off-balance. When she brings a hand up to her face, realizing the wound is now dripping black liquid, she snarls, green energy beginning to radiate from her other hand. 

By the time she throws up her hand, a spell of something gaseous and lime green headed straight for them, Lillie has conjured up her own to counter, trapping the gas in a bubble and sending it flying up to the ceiling. 

Her mother stares at her, slack-jawed for just a moment, but it’s long enough for Gladion to tackle her, managing to pin her arms and stand behind her. It gives Moon the perfect opportunity to rush forward with her stake, aiming for her chest. 

But Lusamine struggles against her son’s grip, sees the attack incoming and opens her mouth in a noiseless scream. 

A rush of green fire escapes her mouth, and Moon just barely manages to bring her arms in front of her face as she tries to sidestep out of the way. She isn’t quick enough to escape all of it, though, and she winces at the feeling of a burn but more somehow on her arms, and half of her stake has burned into a uselessly blunt piece of wood that she drops. 

With the Slayer close but now unarmed, Lusamine steadies herself with one leg and kicks out with the other, sending the girl flying back a few feet before landing on the ground. 

Sun feels his stomach turn at the sight of his sister slowly getting up from the ground, and so he goes in with his nail-bat. He swings just as Lusamine breaks Gladion’s hold on her, and she grabs the human by both shoulders before he can bring his bat down, and then he’s sailing through the air until his back hits a tank, his head making contact with the glass as he groans through the pain. 

By now, Lusamine’s face has shifted, eyes red and black veins appearing as her mouth settles into a snarl. Lillie manages to hit her with a ray of frost, but whatever damage it does seems outweighed by the fury it ignites in the other witch, who turns to her daughter and raises her hand. With a gasp, Lillie feels herself being lifted, and before she can cast a spell in retaliation, there’s a sensation at her neck and then it’s squeezing, choking her as she desperately claws at her throat. 

Gladion feels himself enter a blind panic, going to tackle Lusamine only to be hit with the same spell, joining his sister in the air as he kicks his feet, not needing to breathe but wincing at the pressure of the chokehold, swearing he can feel nails digging into his neck. 

“I’m done playing games,” Lusamine snaps, both arms raised as she glares at the pair, hands clenching as she tightens the pressure on their windpipes. 

An arrow, aimed for the space directly between her eyes, stops in mid-air with her stare, clattering uselessly to the ground. 

Burnet swears under her breath, Guzma lying unconscious behind her. Hau feels his heart being ripped out of his chest at the sight of Lillie, trying to think of something to do as Kukui gapes at the sight, horrified and hoping to call upon some hidden humanity deep within Lusamine as he screams, “You would hurt your own children?” 

She narrows her eyes, looking up at the two in the air, and her voice is calm, void of anything but a chilled apathy. 

“I have no children.” 

And she flicks her wrists, eyes unimpressed, uncaring, as she slams their bodies into the ground hard enough for the marble to crack. Lillie’s name is ripped form Hau’s throat as he runs to her, gently waking her as Moon rushes to Gladion’s side, helping him sit up as he groans, turning to spit something black. 

Lusamine frowns at the sight. 

“Don’t you see how your souls have made you weak?” They turn to look at her, watching as her eyes narrow and she spits, “You care too much for each other, it holds you back. Your pathetic morality keeps you from your true desires.” 

She lifts a hand and Moon is forced to her feet, floating above the ground as she’s paralyzed, being dragged towards Lusamine. Gladion tries to reach out for her just a second too late. 

“I’ve heard about your mercy, Slayer. It’s disgusting.” Moon’s body comes to a stop when she’s a breath away from Lusamine, the woman sizing her up with a humorless laugh, eyes glinting with a sadistic joke. “You would spare my life, no doubt.” 

Maybe she would have. 

Maybe if Lusamine hadn’t ruined her own children’s lives. Maybe if she hadn’t summoned creatures never meant for this world, freezing her favorites. Maybe if she wasn’t intent on destroying the very universe they live in just because it no longer suits her fancy. 

Moon is used to fighting monsters that are still worthy of redemption, of living. 

Lusamine isn’t one of them – not anymore. 

So she holds the monster’s gaze, feels her body go numb and then ignite with the realization as she says evenly, resolutely, “No, I’m going to kill you.” 

And just because she feels like it, just because she decides that this is the only person in the world that she hates, Moon spits in her face. 

It shocks Lusamine, just enough that the spell weakens and the Slayer can deliver an uppercut to the woman’s face, followed swiftly by a kick to her gut that sends her flying back against the wall. With her out of the way, Moon turns, running and reaching out for the glass container Nebby’s in, the Ultra Beast lighting up at the sight of her. 

Her hand is reaching out when her arm seizes up, followed by every muscle in her body as Lusamine unleashes a spell of green gas on her. It’s so much worse than the Nihilego poison, so much worse than any other pain she’s felt as she collapses to the ground, her body screaming out in a molten torture that burns and stabs, has her opening her mouth to scream only to find that her throat is contracting and burning, god _everything is burning. _

She thinks, maybe, that it feels like dying. 

Then her body is rising in the air and flying back towards the exit, but someone catches her – Kukui, she would realize, if consciousness wasn’t hard to hold onto, didn’t burn her mind like a stovetop with every touch. Maybe then she would also see that Lusamine is worse for wear, reaching her limits of magic as well even as she casts blindly. 

Moon doesn’t feel anything anymore, as she’s lifted into someone’s arms and sound is foggy now, like she’s underwater, none of the words clear as there’s a rush of movement that her brain can’t catch up to. 

Her head lolls to the side, spinning, spinning, the room is spinning. With what’s left of her vision, as they head in a different direction, she can see Guzma, still on the ground but awake now. She catches his eye, and there’s something strange in his gaze. 

Regret, she thinks. 

And then she doesn’t think anything at all. 

* * *

“You let them get away!” 

The pedestal is crushed to dust, even as Lusamine’s entire body shakes, nearing her breaking point of exhaustion. She looks up at Guzma, her eyes manic and infuriated as he stands there. He’s covered in scrapes and bruises, and he doesn’t even bother with the arrow in his thigh. 

He can’t be bothered with much of anything at this point. 

She picks up a fragment of the marble pedestal, tossing it at him with a growl as she screeches, “After everything I do, you lay there and watch them get away!” 

“We still have the key.” He moves his head to the side, but the stone scrapes against his cheek. Part of him thinks she might kill him. 

The other part reminds him that it’s how he treated Plumeria before she left, and it’s not guilt that makes him feel like vomiting, but it’s something rancid all the same. 

“And they still have the Slayer.” 

A week ago, maybe even a few days ago, he would have started apologizing, making promises to get her. 

But he saw the Slayer being carried out, didn’t feel any thrill from knowing he could take her down, and he already knows that no matter what he does next, it will be his fault according to Lusamine. 

He shrugs. 

His body crashes into the ground, and he groans at the impact, wincing when she lifts him up by his shirt only to shove him back down, head smacking against the marble again and again. 

When she stops, her face is just above his, all disgust. 

“You’re useless to me.” 

And what use has she served him? What has she done that’s made his life any better? She scared his coven. She treated him like a science experiment. She turned him against Plumeria. 

Plumeria left. 

His eyes sting with something he won’t name as he snaps, “I sacrificed so much for you.” 

_ “S I L E N C E!” _

She’s raising her hands now, her eyes all white sclera as her entire body glows. The air is crackling with electricity, the ground underneath him shaking as he realizes she’s summoning forth the sort of magic that he’s only heard in myths. 

“You’ve failed me for the last time.” When she stands, she keeps her hands over his form, and she’s snide, superior, as she hisses, “If you’re so protective over humanity, join it.” 

Guzma is blinded and he’s on fire and then he’s falling, no, he’s being shoved back into his own body with something new lodged in his chest, something that’s aching and itching at his skin and making him claw at his shirt. 

A soul. 

This is a soul, and it hurts like all hell, hurts with all the years he hasn’t had one catching up and stabbing at his mind, the spot just behind his eyes. 

Lusamine stares at him writhing on the ground, her own body swaying as she swallows hard just to keep conscious. The last of her energy is drained, but still she pushes herself, walking past him without another glance. 

“The next time I see you, I will not hesitate to destroy you.” 

The walk is arduous, and she blacks out most of it, leaning against walls and nearly dragging herself at one point, but she finally makes it to the labs. She walks all the way down the hall and enters the last room on the right, stumbling in and steadying herself on the counter. 

Her surgical instruments still sit on their tray, neat and sanitized and shining in the light. She picks up one with a long needle, her hands shaking and struggling to lift it. With her other hand, she opens a drawer, fingers fumbling until she lifts a vial of viscous blue liquid. 

“If you want something done right,” she mumbles, uncorking the Nihilego poison as she grins widely, maniacally, “Do it yourself.” 

* * *

Plumeria sits in the back of a boat, bored and tapping her fingers against her knee as she waits. Knocking out the crew proved easy enough after they docked, and she glances at the three of them, still unconscious. She frowns at their uniforms; Aether uniforms are so white, so chemically pristine and smelling of bleach. 

There’s a commotion that has her sitting up straighter. No one has entered the docks for an hour now, but she can hear the elevator starting up and stopping, and then a cacophony of voices shouting things like “she’s still breathing” and “almost there.” When she glances over the crate she’s been sitting against, her eyes catch on the group of people rushing for a nearby boat, and she hides once more, pressing her body down and not daring to move until she can no longer hear the boat engine. 

Until she can longer picture the Slayer’s limp body, or the distressed face of tears and snot of the vampire carrying her. 

When the quiet settles once more, she decides she’s had enough of this boat. She climbs onto the dock, picking out a shadowed corner and hopping up onto another crate – there are always so many crates here. Nothing really changes here. 

But she’s changed. For one thing, her hair is shorter now, just past her shoulders but still streaks of yellow and pink. She’s switched out her clothes, too, swapping in some purple because she thinks it might be her favorite color, and taking out the hair clips because they give her a headache. 

There are other changes, bigger changes. She wants to tell him about them, has for a few days now, but she’s nervous. 

The elevator comes to life once more, but there aren’t any voices and it’s just one figure stumbling off the platform. 

She watches him from the shadows, chest clenching at the sight. He’s downright pathetic here at the docks, struggling to stay upright, throwing his body against crates to keep from falling. 

Eventually, the pain in his chest becomes too much and he cries out, slumping against the wall and tearing at the fabric covering his chest, trying to end the white-hot pain. For a moment, it seems to subside, or maybe the exhaustion has really hit as his shoulders slump. She steps out of the shadows. 

He looks up at her like she’s the difference between salvation and damnation for just a moment, and then the smirk he has reserved just for her is back on his face. His voice is all gravel, his chuckle barely more than a rasp. 

“I really fucked up this time, huh?” 

“Yeah, you did.” She frowns down at Guzma, voice soft but urgent as she asks, “What did she do to you?” 

“Stuck me with a soul,” he says, and then he’s wincing, the pain back for a moment and causing a lump in his throat. “Shit, it hurts.” 

Plumeria sighs. Whatever talk she had thought up will have to wait as she reaches down, slinging an arm around his waist and helping him stand, leaning on her. “Come on. We need to get you out of here.” 

It’s a slow walk back to the boat, and it’s silent between them. There’s a lot that needs to be said, and neither knows where to start. 

When they’re nearly at the boat, he looks at the ground, his voice dropping to its quietest volume in years as he mumbles, “Why did you come back? After how I treated you...I’m sorry.” 

“She got in your head. You made mistakes.” Her grip tightens on him, nearly a squeeze or a hug. “But I also know that’s not you, that you can be better.” 

He scoffs, self-loathing filling him; it’s one of the new emotions he’s having to deal with now, the stupid self-reflection that he’s been stuck with opening the floodgates of guilt and shame and so much more. “Now that I have a soul.” 

“Fuck that. You never needed a soul.” She stops their walk just before they get on the boat, fixing him with a resolute stare as she says, bristling, “We weren’t good people, but we were better than this. I don’t have a soul, but I have my mind and my body, and I’m choosing to put them to better use.” 

They stare at each other a moment longer, and he’s searching for something. 

“Is that why you came back? Because you wanna be better?” 

“I came back because I love you, dumbass.” 

He has the gall to look surprised at that, as if she hasn’t loved him for at least half a century now. 

Biting his cheek, he slowly shakes his head. “I don’t deserve that.” 

“Yeah, well it’s not your decision to make,” she snaps, startling him out of his downward spiral as she huffs, “If you don’t want it, just say so, because when I say I love you, it’s not something sweet and delicate. It’s hard work and a promise, one that I’m not gonna break, so don’t let me make it if you aren’t in it, too.” 

“Nah, I promised to take care of you since the day I met you. I’m sorry I broke that.” Then his stomach is swooping when she looks at him with warmth in her eyes, when she’s not turning on him, when she really wants what’s best for him. 

“So here’s a new one – I love you. Never going back on that one.” 

Her lips part, and she looks away, forcing an eye-roll and a snort. “You have a soul for fifteen minutes and you’re turning into a sentimental pile of mush.” 

He chuckles, though it turns into a wince as the movement jostles his body and he’s hit with another aftershock of soul pain. She helps him onto the boat, settling him on the floor against the back wall, and as she’s crouching and making sure he’s comfortable, he tells her with every fiber of his being, “Glad to have you back, Plums.” 

She looks up, blinks, and tells him simply, “I always come back.” 

And she stands, turning and missing the way he sniffles, has to bite his lip to keep from saying something stupid. She’s busy realizing she’s not sure how to drive this boat, but as she steps up to the console now’s as good a time as any to learn. 

Now’s as good a time as any to change. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a behemoth of a chapter that ended up slightly darker and more violent than others, but mostly because Lusamine is here and she's proving that she's the real Big Bad
> 
> also surprise - that vision back in chapter 15 was Plumeria's


	23. squad ghouls

[[♪ We Sink - Of Monsters and Men ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFRywBkXgdA)

There’s a slight murmur at the kitchen table of Kukui and Burnet’s house, and it’s the only noise filling the space as the night grows darker. 

Hau, Kukui, and Burnet sit at the table, gathered around floorplans of Aether Paradise and marking it up, taking care to add as many details as they can, unsure which will save them in the end. 

In the fourth chair, Sun sits, Lillie standing behind him with a frown as her hands glow in soft white light, hovering over the back of his head. He’s the last to have his injuries checked, insisting he was fine even with the back of his head bleeding and aching. 

The priority instead went to the unconscious Slayer laid on the couch, burns on her arms and pulse fluttering dangerously. 

Lillie managed to stabilize her quickly, doing what she could to purge her body of the poison. Once she could feel Moon’s heartbeat growing steady, she settled on speeding up the healing of the burns. It was all she could do, and she trembled throughout it, blinking back tears of desperation as she focused. 

Then they waited, Gladion sitting at her side and unmoving, unblinking as he watched her. 

An hour later, she woke. 

With another check-up and several glasses of water in her, Moon is now lying on the couch, head propped up with pillows as Gladion warps her forearms in bandages. He works slowly, delicately, like one wrong move might cause her to break; she doesn’t say anything about it as she observes his expression, sees how he struggles to keep his face blank. 

“How are you feeling?” 

He looks up at her, blinking, and lets out a one-note, stunned chuckle as he shakes his head. “She gets burned, poisoned, and paralyzed, and she asks me how_ I’m _feeling.” 

Moon gives him a lopsided smile. “She cares about you.” 

His hands still for a moment as he glances up at her, locking eyes and unable to keep his own lips from quirking up. It only lasts a second, though, as he considers her question and finishes up wrapping her arm. She’s used to seeing him serious, but this is something else, something darker, less hopeful. 

“I’m worried.” 

She falters, searching for the words to try and soothe him and not finding any – it's hard to when she knows he saw her get knocked out, saw her body writhing on the ground. “I...I can’t make you a lot of promises right now.” 

But he knows that, knows that there isn’t much between them that can be built on promises. 

“It’s okay. It’s better now that you’re awake and healing.” And it’s true, dispelling some of the heavy air, but they can’t shake all of it off. With a sigh, he reaches for the coffee table, grabbing a cotton pad and a bottle of antiseptic before he turns to her, warning, “This will sting.” 

“How ever will I endure the pain?” 

It gets a laugh out of him, something soft but genuine all the same, and she grins wide even as he dabs at a cut on her cheek and it stings just like he told her it would. 

“We need a new plan.” 

Their eyes turn to Sun, his face somber after he says it loud enough to get their attention. Lillie stands next to him, Wicke’s note in her hand as she sighs. “Wicke says Lusamine failed to use the key correctly and open the portal she wanted. They aren’t sure what went wrong, and Wicke will try to lead them astray to buy us time, but we don’t have much.” 

“We can try looking more into the flutes, try to find some sort of loophole to use.” Kukui chews his cheek, trying not to groan in frustration as he taps his pen against the kitchen table. “I don’t know if we have many other weapons up our sleeve.” 

Moon thinks for a moment, tries to recall what’s really made her stronger. If it were up to the Council, the answer would be her hard work and determination alone, the call that she felt for some arbitrary reason at too young an age. 

But she knows better. 

“Hau, Gladion – I need your help.” The two look at the Slayer, listening intently as she explains with furrowed brows, “I want to get a message out, and I need to make sure it reaches everyone in the occult community.” 

The druid and vampire share a look and a nod, Hau saying with the beginnings of a smile, “You can count on us, cousin.” 

“Now c’mon, we all have things to work on.” She sits up slowly on the couch, and even the bandaged arms and bruises do nothing to dull the spark in her eyes as she smirks. 

“Team Slayer is just getting started.” 

* * *

The recording starts with a young woman on a couch, pressing a button on the laptop that’s recording before sitting back, adjusting her hair before taking a deep breath and giving the camera a smile. 

“Hi. I’m Moon, your friendly neighborhood Slayer – some of you might disagree with me on that, and I’m sorry if you do. You probably caught me on a bad day...or were trying to kill me. 

“I know I probably don’t have the best reputation with you. Slayers are the girls who go bump in the night, who attack first and ask questions later. At least, that’s what they tell us. They don’t tell us much, the people who train us. Most Watchers kind of just say the same thing: we’re weapons. We’re trained in how to destroy, and we learn the rules they made up about how to destroy correctly.” 

She fidgets with her hands, looking down for a moment as her gray eyes stare into a bad memory. 

“If I’m being honest, I never wanted to be a Slayer. After I felt the call, I was scared. And you know, for a lot of my life, I’ve tried real damn hard to pretend to not be a Slayer, because I never wanted to destroy – I wanted to live. Most Slayers don’t make it past their twentieth birthday. Occupational hazard. But it’s not just the shorter life expectancy that gets me, it’s the shortchanging of life itself. The only way you can kill so constantly, so ruthlessly, is giving up your soul completely. And that means never really living. 

“They don’t really cover conflict resolution in Slayer training. I mean, we’re supposed to maintain peace in the world, but only through a cycle of violence, and I’ve been finding ways to undo that but...That’s a tangent, sorry. All this to say, I’d really like to have a chance to live in this world. I’m sure a lot of you do, too. I think we all deserve that.” 

A frown forms on her face as she looks back up. 

“Unfortunately, there’s a very powerful woman who doesn’t think that. By this point, I figure most of you have heard through the grapevine that Lusamine Aether is just about ready to destroy this world. In just a few days, she’ll open up a portal that’ll unleash aliens in the hope of wiping all of us out. She doesn’t see anything worth saving. 

“But I do, and hopefully you do, too. I see a world filled with wonder and magic, a world where the mundane and the occult can live side by side in both their weirdness and benefit from each other. I see a world full of life, and maybe I don’t agree with a lot of what it means to be a Slayer, but I believe in my duty to protect life. I’m not a weapon – I'm a guardian. And I’m asking for your help. 

“I don’t pretend that it’ll be easy. We’re up against some pretty intense odds, but we have a lot of skin in the game considering our entire world is at stake. But damn it, I want to live, and I’ll fight the good fight today so we can have peace tomorrow.” 

She stares down the camera with eyes full of conviction, and more dangerously, hope. 

“What will you do?” 

* * *

_ Slayers work alone. While other Slayers may help train younger chosen ones, it is a helm that is meant to be wielded individually. It bears repeating once more: Slayers work alone. _

** _ Doctor _****_Gramtapen’s _****_Grimoire, 1_****_st_****_ Edition _ **

* * *

It’s Thursday night, and Moon is on the first of her sick days that she’s taken from work. Sun’s also using some vacation time – he also complains that considering they’re working around the clock to stop the apocalypse, this is the worst vacation he’s ever taken. Burnet’s called in sick, and how Kukui managed to find a last-minute substitute is a small miracle, but it’s one they need and gladly take. 

They hole up in Kukui and Burnet’s house, since the Watcher already has the fully-stocked library of supernatural topics that they might need, and Lillie has all her spell and potion ingredients in the basement. It’s also the largest house, though it certainly doesn’t feel like it now as tomes litter every tabletop, diagrams pinned to the wall, and a plethora of mugs scattered about. 

Moon decides to take a break from taking stock of the weapons Kukui brought over from his armory, setting aside her inventory sheet and pen and instead busying her hands with the coffee maker. When a fresh pot is brewed, she goes around the room, stopping at the kitchen table to refill Burnet’s mug as the scientist goes through Mohn’s research, highlighting a data point before turning and pointing it out to Kukui and Sun. The Slayer then moves to the living room, carefully stepping over a pile of photocopied UB files, filling up Hau and Lillie’s mugs as the two flip through a spell book. 

She’s not entirely sure how she manages it, but she does then climb the ladder up to the loft that serves as a home office, and she doesn’t even spill any coffee. Gladion is seated at the desk, surrounded by bookshelves overflowing with trinkets, as he types away on his laptop. His eyes don’t move from his screen, fingers never ceasing as she wordlessly fills up his mug. An impish smile takes over face, and so before she turns to head back down, she presses her lips against the nape of his neck, grinning widely as his body stiffens and he splutters what’s supposed to be her name. 

When she’s back on the ground floor, setting the coffee pot back on the counter, a knock sounds at the door. The others look around, no one really sure who it could be, seeing as the pizza they ordered was already delivered. Moon, however, feels her heart flutter, trying to clamp down on her hope that her shot in the dark video worked. 

“I got it,” she says, heading to the front door and opening it just wide enough to poke her head through. 

Plumeria stands on the porch, and Moon feels her body freeze, the air leaving her lungs. The vampire gives her a nervous smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as her eyes flicker to the right. 

“Hey, uh, I got the message.” Their gazes lock once more, and Plumeria takes a deep breath, her smile dropping in favor of something a little more sober, a little more cautiously optimistic. “And I’ve been thinking, about everything I’ve done and what you’ve said. I know I messed up, and I don’t expect you to forgive me, but if you’ll let me, I want to be the Slayer I know I can be.” 

They consider each other for a moment, wonder what the call looked like for the other, what it feels like to be abandoned and then reborn in different ways. 

Moon smiles, small and true. “Sounds like a good first step to me.” 

The other Slayer’s chuckle is the slightest bit relieved, clearing her throat before she asks with a raised brow, “So where do I sign up to save the world?” 

Her eyes flicker to the sliver of living room she can see, and she realizes by now that the others she’s seen around Moon are gathering behind her, staring at her in silent surprise. There are varying levels of shock and apprehension – Gladion, for one, doesn’t look very happy at all to see her, but she holds his gaze all the same. 

“Our legal team is on break, but I’ll take your word for it,” Moon mumbles with a snort, and she opens the door wider to let the vampire in, about to turn and ask Kukui and Burnet if they’d give her permission, when her eyes catch on movement on the beach. 

No, not movement, but a mass. A mass of bodies, of various shapes, sizes, and origins are gathered just past the porch, and Moon feels her lips parting as Plumeria gives her a smirk. 

“Hope you don’t mind, but I also brought a few friends.” 

She steps out onto the porch, the others following, Lillie letting out a soft gasp and Hau a low whistle at the sight before them. 

Acerola stands by the stairs, smiling up at them as she swings her arms, Nanu at her side as unimpressed as ever, though no neighborhood strays trail him this time around. Ilima catches Sun’s eye, giving him a wave before he pulls his wings in, form shifting into something a little more human. Sophocles and Molayne are towards the back of the crowd, the shorter celestial clearly uncomfortable as he stares up at the porch with a frown, but his taller companion smiles enough for the both of them, shoulders relaxed as he adjusts his backpack. Olivia, Mallow, and Lana stand close together, wearing their band’s merch and grinning up at the group, Lana sticking out her tongue with a giggle. 

Lillie smiles at the sight of Mina, who grins back, Kahili by her side with a shy smile as the rest of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine is gathered behind them. Cupid is in the middle with his arm wrapped around a woman’s waist, both of them giving off a soft, golden glow that lights up Hala’s face. The kahuna keeps his hands on his hips, nodding up at the group on the porch as Leilani, Keon, and the other druids are gathered around him, some waving up at Hau while the others work to keep a chilled breeze coming to counteract the heat wave of the cherufes. Kiawe rubs the back of his neck apologetically, his family looking around in wonder, never having been this far from home. Then there are all the new faces, all the only sort of familiar faces, a dozen or so looking up at the group with a mix of nervousness and anticipation. 

And in the very back, a timid distance away from the rest of the group, stand several vampires. The tallest of whom, with his shock of white hair, has his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he looks up at Moon, and now she knows it was regret that she saw in his eyes before. 

Plumeria chuckles at the other Slayer’s stunned face, watching as her mouth opens and closes, failing to produce any sound. “Feeling tongue-tied?” 

“I mean, yeah,” Moon mumbles, because she’s had to be so cautious with her optimism before that she doesn’t know what to do. “I’ll be honest, I was hoping a few people would join, I wasn’t expecting..._this.” _

“Well hey, you’ve been helping all of us out,” Acerola pipes up, nearly jumping as she grins wide, “So now we wanna help you!” 

A ripple of agreement moves through the crowd, and Moon feels a lump in her throat beginning to form. Which is terrible timing, really, because she realizes that everyone’s looking at her expectantly, and when she turns back to the others on the porch, they’re smiling encouragingly. 

She clears her throat, turning to the crowd before her. 

They need a leader – she's not sure if she can be the one they deserve. 

But damn it if she isn’t going to try. 

“So you all want to save the world.” Her gaze travels the crowd, arms crossing. “I wasn’t kidding when I said it wouldn’t be easy. We’re up against someone who’s fueled by hate. She thinks any sign of love or connection is weakness.” 

“And I call bullshit on that.” 

There are a few cheers at that, which fuels a quick wave of laughter that has Moon smiling as she continues, “I’m doing this because I love life, because I know that we’re stronger together than alone. Lusamine thinks she’s done all the math on this one, but she’s severely miscalculated one thing.” 

“Hate is the easy option – it takes real strength to love.” She raises her hand in the air, her grin growing wide as she shouts, “Let’s show her what it means to love a world so much that we stop an apocalypse!” 

The beach erupts into cheers, and Hau and Kukui are lifting her up onto their shoulders as she laughs, trying not to fall and not even caring if she does because her body feels light enough to fly. 

* * *

If the house was crowded before, now it’s nearly claustrophobic. They’ve had to expand to using the beach itself as a sort of training ground, and they’ve been cycling through groups of supernatural into the basement in order to get them all caught up with Lusamine’s plan. 

Sun walks up the stairs to the living room, carrying a large wooden box. It feels heavier knowing that inside, the Sun and Moon Flutes rest, almost taunting them. What he and Kukui have managed to dig up about the flutes is flimsy at best, with so little documentation surrounding them; what does exist in writing leaves truth indiscernible from myth. They had hoped Kahili might have more insight, but she revealed that whatever was passed down about the flutes through the Coven of the Arcane Feminine has been lost for centuries now. 

So they decide the risk is to great and they’ll shelve the flutes (literally). Sun’s bringing the box from the basement to the office loft in order to tuck them away somewhere with a lot less people moving through. As he makes his way through the living room, where several people are taking breaks, Hau offering them snacks with a smile, a voice behind him purrs, “Hey pretty boy, have a second?” 

He freezes at the voice, gulping as he turns to see Ilima looking at him, in his human form because his wings have proved to be a bit of an obstacle indoors. Even though he’s looking directly at him, Sun turns, looking around and trying to identify who the incubus could be referring to. Ilima chuckles, and with a flush, Sun points at himself as Ilima nods. 

“Forget my name already?” he jokes, but his voice is wavering, making him feel like he’s back in high school and trying not to stare at the football player he has a crush on. 

“I couldn’t forget you.” A brilliant blush blooms on Sun’s cheeks, and when he looks up, he half-expects the incubus to be laughing at him, but his eyes are surprisingly warm, a kind half-smile on his lips as he explains, “I hate to bother you, but I’ve run into an issue when I’m trying to train with this.” 

Ilima rings the bell on his collar with a single finger, and Sun’s brows shoot up before they furrow. “Ah, right.” 

“Nifty of you all to make it so I can’t take this off myself.” He tilts his head, not unlike a cat, and Sun’s always been a cat person _stop focus. _“Can you?” 

Whatever hold Ilima has on him now feels downright supernatural, and it’s taking a lot of restraint on the human’s part to keep from stepping closer, to not fumble with the box still in his hands, so logically he concludes, “I don’t know, you’re still using your powers on me.” 

Ilima frowns. “No I’m not.” 

Sun nearly drops the box. 

“Wh-what?” 

“I haven’t used any of my magic on you.” Now a knowing grin makes its way onto Ilima’s face as he leans in just a hair closer to Sun, asking far too innocently, “What makes you say that?” 

It’s funny, Sun swore he knew how to breathe just a second ago. 

He quickly places the box on the coffee table, realizing it’s dangerous for him to hold it at this point with his shaking hands, and even when he turns to face Ilima again he can’t look him in the eye. “Let’s just get this off you.” 

If the incubus notices the tremble in the human’s fingers, he says nothing, instead content to hum as Sun steps behind him and fumbles with the collar’s clasp. 

“Any nice dreams lately? Besides the ones I’m in.” 

Technically, there was only one dream that Ilima popped into, after their first meeting. Sun had immediately realized what was happening in the dream and woke up, more than a little embarrassed and wondering if he should go for the nail-bat in the corner of his room. However, Ilima was perfectly civil, incredibly candid in telling him that he just wanted to stop by, talk more about this grimoire app he was talking about the other night. 

And it had been strangely nice, with Sun pulling his legs up to his chest as he rambled and Ilima sat on the other side of the bed, listening intently and filling in the silences easily. 

But still, the human blushes as if he’s scandalized, and even without seeing his face, Ilima can hear it in his voice. “You’re teasing me.” 

“Very well, I might add.” 

The collar comes off, Sun pocketing it as he walks back around and picks the flute box back up. Ilima’s hand traces over his throat, his lips pulling into a grateful smile, and Sun hesitates. 

“Can I ask you something weird?” When the incubus nods, his grip on the box tightens, and his voice grows quiet as his gaze goes to the floor. “Why me?” 

Ilima tilts his head, brows furrowing. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, you’re surrounded by really powerful supernatural beings, most of whom are also unnaturally attractive, but instead you’re flirting with, well, me.” 

“You’re selling yourself rather short,” Ilima mumbles, his tone dipping into concern as he watches how Sun shrugs, face alarmingly blank. 

He lets out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Hard not to when you’re the only human in a room full of ghosts, sirens, and nature spirits.” 

“But that’s precisely what I like about you.” Ilima smiles when the young man finally looks up at him, and he explains, “You’re so endearingly human, and yet it isn’t holding you back. It’s an interesting paradox, a charming one.” 

His hand reaches out, tucking a strand of Sun’s hair behind his ear as he adds in a dangerous whisper, “I may also be a sucker for pretty eyes.” 

Sun gapes, his entire body aflame as he can feel Ilima’s breath on his lips. 

_ “Ihavetogonow.” _

He’s turning, clutching the box to his chest and heading for the loft stares, missing the dreamy smile on Ilima’s face (or the knowing smirk on Hau’s as the druid slowly pulls out his phone to start a new betting pool). 

It should be impossible for him to climb the ladder with the box and every nerve ending in him shaking and sparking, but Sun makes it up to the office in record time. 

His sister sits at the desk, chewing her bottom lip as she goes through notecards of everyone who’s joined forces with them, trying to organize them into possible teams for the inevitable rematch. She glances over when she hears him step onto the loft, raising a brow. “Hey, are you feeling okay? You look a little feverish.” 

“It’s nothing,” he huffs, too quickly, and he keeps his eyes on the bookshelf next to her, finding an empty spot on the bottom shelf where he can tuck the flute box away. 

When he stands back up, Moon is fixing him with a knowing look that sends his stomach sinking. She turns back to her notecards with a hum. 

“Nothing to do with the incubus you’ve been secretly staring at?” 

Sun groans, leaning against the bookshelf as he pouts, crossing his arms. “You’re taking revenge on me.” 

“Little bit,” she says with a nod, giving him a mischievous grin. 

He shakes his head, watching her shuffle through a few notecards before placing another one on the desk, next to three others. “No fair that I have a cute boy flirting with me just when you and Gladion stop being awkward around each other.” 

She stiffens for a moment, and then she’s very interested in the index cards in her hands, eyes intently reading her notes on Sophocles and his powers. “Sucks.” 

“Seriously, you two are way too relaxed around each other. What, did you finally bump uglies?” 

It should get a rise out of her, should have her snapping at him about how ridiculous he is – at the very least, Moon should be scowling in his direction. 

But the loft is silent, and she’s not moving. 

Sun’s eyes widen, asking incredulously, “Wait, did you actually?” 

She sets down the notecards, pushing her chair back as if to stand. “I-I should really–” 

Her brother’s hands slam down on the back of her chair and the desk, blocking her escape as he blurts, “Moonbeam Kala’i Hoshizaki look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t sleep with the vampire.” 

There’s no use in trying to keep it from him now, but she also knows the second she tells Sun, he’ll tell all the others, and who knows how far it’ll spread. Thinking back on it now, her and Gladion actually didn’t talk about the state of their relationship, what they were to each other and to others. It’s not like now’s a great time for PDA, but how secretive are they being? 

Still, if Sun’s sniffed out the truth, no doubt the others would eventually catch on, too, and so she settles for a vague version of the truth. 

“Something...may have happened...” 

“Yes!” She winces at her brother’s shout, but his eyes are sparkling as he asks, “When?” 

“Can I just say I hate that we’re having this conversation?” Her hands are rubbing down her face, wishing a wormhole would open up under her chair and swallow her. “You’re somehow _ too _supportive.” 

“Because I’ve never seen you so happy.” 

When she looks at him, he’s completely earnest, sighing, “I mean, shit, Moon, the guy douses you with antiseptic and you smile like an idiot. Out of everyone I know, you’re the person who most deserves to be happy, so like, let me be happy about it, too.” 

His words settle nicely in her chest, a small smile building. “Thanks, Sunshine.” 

He mirrors her smile, and then he’s standing up, clapping his hands together in front of his mouth as he takes a deep breath, growing serious as he closes his eyes. “Now, this is really gonna test our relationship, but Hau and I have a side bet and you finally have this information.” When his eyes open, it’s with that impish spark that she knows too well, and then he’s smirking as he starts, “Does he have a big–” 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence how I think you’re going to.” 

“...personality.” 

_ “Worse.” _Heat crawls up her neck as she groans, pinching the bridge of her nose and torn between laughing and hitting him. “How did you make it sound even worse?” 

“Well does he?” 

She stands, brushing past him as she throws her hands in the air and heads straight for the ladder. “I’m done. I regret all of this.” 

“The people need to know, Moonbeam!” he shouts after her, watching her begin her descent down the ladder, only to pause and make a rude gesture at him, sending him into a laughing fit. 

And at least for a few moments, it doesn’t feel like the world is ending. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot twist: Sun is even worse around his crush than Moon, that's why he relentlessly teased her before
> 
> we're approaching the big battle...oh boy...


	24. smells like team spirit

[[♪ Legend - The Score ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jecQcgbyetw)

It’s been an interesting few days as Moon and the others have had to shift their view of the Skulls from a major threat to major help. 

As it turns out, there’s a middle ground – major annoyance. 

Guzma and Plumeria made sure to weed out the most aggressive of their coven members, reducing their numbers in the hopes that those who were joining forces with the good guys weren’t going to be too difficult. However, the learning curve for things like holding back while sparring and not seeing teammates as potential meals has proved steeper than they would like. 

There’s also the fact that Gladion doesn’t trust Guzma as far as he can throw him, which, incidentally, isn’t half as far as Guzma can throw him. 

His back hits one of the padded mats they’ve set up on the beach as he grunts from the impact. He takes a moment to glare up at the stars, and then he hears that stupid laugh and his hands are clenching into fists as his eyes narrow. 

“Chalk up another win for me, Gladbag.” 

He stands, watching with a scowl as Guzma walks past him with easy, rolling steps, heading back towards the house to take a break. It had actually been Gladion’s idea for the two of them to spar, but it came from needing to vent some of the irritation that’s been building with the Skull leader. Unfortunately, even without his modifications, Guzma is just a stronger vampire than him, having who knows how many centuries to have honed his strength. 

The whole ordeal has only convinced Gladion further that he’d really like to punch Guzma’s face in. 

Instead, he settles on delivering a kick to his back, just hard enough to have the older vampire stumble a few steps before turning to look at him, eyes wide with indignation. 

“The hell’s wrong with you? You got a problem with me?” 

“Yes!” He’s uncaring of the others on the beach, their own sparring sessions pausing as they look over, watching him rant, “You get a soul and expect us to just forget that you killed people, tried to kill Moon. You were on the wrong side for a lot longer than the right one.” 

Guzma blinks, but it’s quickly covered up by a defensive flare of anger that has him gritting through his teeth, “I’m not asking you to forget anything – I'm asking you to see me doing better and work with me.” 

“Well what if I can’t?” 

“I’m trying to make things right.” 

Gladion’s up in his face, eyes flashing red for just a moment as he snarls, “Try. Harder.” 

The two stare at each other, fangs bared as they try to kill each other with just their glares. Everyone else on the beach hesitates, looking around at each other; they should probably step in and try to de-escalate the situation, but the two vampires have never gotten along and this time around they look like they’re going to kill each other. No one in their right mind would want to get in between this staring contest. 

“Hey my dudes, I’m sensing some tension over here.” 

No one except Mina, apparently. 

She has her typical smile on, looking completely relaxed as the two vampires turn to look at her, not sure what to make of the witch as she reaches a hand into the front pocket of her overalls, taking out a stick of gum to unwrap and pop into her mouth. 

“If I had to guess, past resentment with a sprinkle of toxic masculinity at play. Yikes.” She pauses to blow a bubble, the pop resounding across the beach as the others look on in shock and she shrugs. “Anyway, the end is like, pretty nigh, and I think we’d all appreciate it if you two could put aside your differences for the greater good before I, oh I don’t know, melt your faces.” 

Her smile suddenly seems a lot less chill and a lot more chilling. 

“Just a suggestion,” she hums once she’s made the two men sweat under her gaze for a minute, turning to head back to her own sparring session with Mallow. 

Guzma and Gladion turn back to look at each other, and their shoulders drop and snarls transition into calmer scowls. Everyone else seems to let out a sigh of relief as they turn back to what they were doing, convinced the bloodbath has been averted for now. 

But a spark reignites in Gladion’s eyes as he shoves past Guzma, making sure to hit him with his shoulder as he walks past. “This isn’t over.” 

“Damn right it isn’t,” Guzma mutters under his breath, cracking his neck before heading towards a group of his grunts and deciding he’s going to need another fight just to cool down. 

* * *

It takes less time than it should to repair the damage Lusamine has wreaked on the wormhole generator – mostly due to the fact that her team of scientists very well knew they could start to look like the gutted machines if they slowed their pace. 

There’s no time to rest after the repairs, though, especially not when their boss has no real physical need for rest and she’s hell-bent on destroying the world. They set up for yet another experiment, exhausted, and Wicke watches them with a frown; it only grows when she catches sight of the Cosmog in the glass container, the small UB barely able to float as its eyes keep closing, trying to sleep. 

They start up the generator once more, Lusamine about to aim her spell at the wormhole as it grows, until she hears a small, otherworldly chiming noise and her gaze settles on the trapped UB. 

“That’s it,” she mumbles, and the green energy surrounding her hands is instead aimed at the glass. Nebby cries out and Lusamine looks to the wormhole, eyes widening and grin growing as she watches it stretch ever larger. She can feel the force of it pulling on her body, but there’s a rush of air blowing her back, a half dozen Buzzwole managing to be sucked through before the machinery gives out once more. 

The scientists are up and backing away, the Buzzwole surrounding Lusamine and the key, buzzing incessantly. The vampire is uncaring, unseeing of them as her gaze drifts between the wormhole generator and the Cosmog, realizing how much closer her little discovery has pushed her to finally unlocking a permanent portal to Ultra Space. 

“Lusamine.” Wicke’s voice breaks her out of her reverie, the human walking towards the mass of Buzzwole but maintaining a safe distance, eyes wary as she asks, “Should we move the UBs to the conservatory?” 

“Let’s have them stretch their wings on Melemele.” Lusamine hums, crossing her arms as she watches a Buzzwole tap its stinger against the glass of Nebby’s prison with a vicious smile. 

“A gift for the Slayer.” 

* * *

Burnet bites the nail on her thumb, her phone pressed to her ear as she listens intently. The original team stands around her in the basement, waiting for the call to end. With a nod, she mumbles, “Got it. I’ll tell the others. Good luck up there, guys.” 

The others wait as she hangs up, though they can already tell from her grim face that they don’t have good news waiting for them. 

“It’s getting worse.” 

They stand in silence for a moment until Hau asks with not quite a grimace, “How much worse?” 

“Molayne and Sophocles are picking up dozens of portals a day over at Aether. The good news is that not many UBs are coming through, but it has to mean that Lusamine’s experimenting.” Burnet lets out a deep breath, voice growing quieter as her gaze drifts to the ground. “And they just recorded the biggest portal yet.” 

Moon hums, looking to her Watcher and younger brother. “How are we doing with finding a flute substitute?” 

“I wish there was better news,” Kukui mumbles. 

Sun shakes his head. “We got nada. Bupkis. Big old bowl of nothing stew.” 

Gladion pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re a threat to the English language.” 

“A bigger threat than we are to Aether right now,” Moon can’t help but mutter. She worries her bottom lip, the others feeling the weight of her words settle on her shoulders. Gladion steps a little closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she leans into the touch. 

Lillie thinks for a moment, hugging herself tighter as she tries for a smile. “We have our own little army. That will help even the playing field.” 

But the air is still heavy, a cynicism they can’t quite shake to it. 

“We’ll keep looking,” Kukui finally says, resolved as he looks around at the group. 

“Let’s get some more eyes on it.” Burnet nods, her grip tightening on her phone. “Before we run out of time.” 

* * *

_ Your soul is the most important resource you have. Guard it closely, as it contains not only your humanity, but all of your true power. _

** _ Excerpt from the Manifesto of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine, Author Unknown _ **

* * *

Moon tries to keep herself occupied over the next day, checking in with everyone to keep her mind from drifting to darker territory. She’s just finished talking to the research group, making her way from the basement to the front porch, deciding she should see how training is going before getting in a quick sparring session. 

Plumeria is supervising the groups, leaning against the railing as she watches. 

“How’s it going out here?” 

The vampire turns with a smirk, asking her, “Ever seen a snake and a mongoose try to kill each other on sight?” 

She furrows her brows, about to ask Plumeria to elaborate when she looks out to the training area, only to see that everyone’s stopped sparring in favor of watching two vampires in the middle who are seconds away from going for each other’s throats. 

“Not this again,” Moon sighs, walking over to them with Plumeria following. 

Even from the distance, they can clearly hear every bit of the argument, Guzma’s eyes flashing as he snaps, “Quit breathing down my coven’s neck!” 

“Then control them!” Gladion clenches his hands, looking like he’s either going to tear his hair out or tear out the other vampire’s eyes; neither option is great for morale. “They can’t just feed on whoever they want whenever they want – they'll rouse suspicion.” 

“We’re already rousing plenty of suspicion.” Guzma gestures to their set-up, and it’s a fair point. Luckily, few people used the beach before, and no passing cars have stopped to ask questions, but it’s only a matter of time before they have to come up with a very elaborate excuse. 

Sun’s vote is for trying to pass it off as a LARP session. 

There’s a shift in Gladion’s face, annoyance in his eyes morphing into something angrier, something from a deeper place of hurt. He steps closer to Guzma, eyes narrowing as his voice drops, nearly acid when he spits, “Do you really want some sort of redemption? Do you really think you can earn that?” 

Guzma doesn’t flinch, though his eyes soften for a moment before they harden back into a glare, looking to redirect the hurt. “Not if you don’t let me try.” 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Moon manages to wheedle her way in between the two, separating them as she fixes them both with a look. “Both of you need to cool off.” 

Plumeria places a hand on Guzma’s shoulder as he opens his mouth to argue, raising a brow at him as she mumbles, “I’ll talk to the grunts. Take a lap.” 

With a huff, the Skull leader storms off, Acerola and a member of the Coven of the Arcane Feminine jumping out of the way of his path. Plumeria follows after him, but takes a turn towards a group of vampires laying out on the beach, looking up at the stars. She lets out a whistle, and they jump to their feet, gathering around her. 

Moon turns back to Gladion, who’s eyes are trained on Guzma’s retreating form, and she can feel the vitriol indirectly burning her. She slowly takes his hands in hers, and when he looks down at her his eyes are softer but frustrated. 

“I don’t trust him.” 

She nods, a sigh escaping her lips. “I know – I don’t either, not fully, but we don’t have much of an option, and they haven’t done anything.” 

At that he scoffs, squeezing her hands tighter as he argues, “He tried to kill you.” 

“Lot of people do. Sort of comes with the territory.” Her smirk does little to brighten his mood, and her face grows more serious as she adds quietly, earnestly, “Working with him doesn’t mean we forgive him yet.” 

He grumbles something under his breath, pulling her closer to rest his head on top of hers. She rubs her thumbs over his knuckles, humming in thought as she feels some of the tension melt from his body. When he pulls back, she gives him a quick peck on the cheek and smile. Even as she walks away, she holds her hands as long as possible, watching her head for the water to check in with Mallow, Olivia, and Lana. 

Turning on his heel, Gladion decides he’ll head into the living room to take a break, because while he’s still not sold on lightening up on Guzma, he definitely needs to calm down – part of him worries that everyone is beginning to lump them together, and the thought leaves a sour taste in his mouth. 

For once, no one else seems to be in the living room. It’s a blessing, considering he’s not up for talking after that screaming match. He heads for the fridge, deciding he needs something to take this awful taste away, to distract him from the thought that he could be anything like Guzma. As he rifles through what sodas remain, he hears a faint buzzing, figures it must be some spell they’re trying out in the basement. 

Then it grows louder, and sounds almost like...like mosquitos. 

“What the hell?” he mumbles to himself, closing the fridge as the buzzing reaches its peak, and he hears shouting outside. 

When he slams open the front door, he isn’t sure what he’ll find, but he certainly didn’t expect a dozen Buzzwole. 

His eyes quickly scan the beach, at least slightly relived to see that most of the Buzzwole are covered and being taken care of. However, when his eyes reach the back, he sees Moon facing off against a UB by herself, expertly dodging its stinger only to be grabbed by its hand, the alien holding her up as she kicks and struggles against its grasp. 

He breaks off into a run, narrowly avoiding a blast of something eldritch from Acerola and ducking past a Buzzwole, but he’s still too far away and not moving fast enough. 

Another flash of movement catches his eye, and he realizes that it’s Guzma, coming from the other side of the beach and much closer, heading straight for the UB trying to make a meal of the Slayer. His arm becomes blue, a thick layer of poison building before he jumps and slams it against the Buzzwole’s chest, the creature letting out a distressed cry and dropping Moon. 

She grunts as she hits the ground, but when she realizes the alien is doubled over, making its head within arm’s reach, she quickly grabs its stinger and bends it – with another pained cry, the Buzzwole’s wings start up and it flies off, apparently too injured and interested in survival to keep fighting. 

By the time Gladion reaches them, Guzma is holding out a hand to the Slayer, grunting, “You okay?” 

“Just peachy.” She stands with his help, her gray eyes quick to land on Gladion as she opens her mouth to say something. 

Only to be cut off by Plumeria landing in the sand by their feet, the Buzzwole who tossed her walking towards them. 

She looks up into their faces with a self-deprecating huff. “Little help, please?” 

Before any of them can replies, the Buzzwole is jumping, landing just a few feet in front of them and jabbing its stinger down, Plumeria rolling out of the way and standing as the others jump back. Moon goes in for a kick at its legs, but it blocks with its arm; when Guzma goes for that same arm with his venomous hand, the Buzzwole lifts it, the vampire unleashing a flurry of four-letter words at the miss. 

Gladion stares at Guzma’s arm for a moment, then back at the UB, remembering reading in the files that Buzzwole uses its stinger to suck some sort of energy out of its victims (not entirely unlike a vampire, but he really doesn’t need another unflattering comparison at the moment). 

He glances over at the two Slayers, who are waiting to make a move. “Plumeria, Moon, get its legs.” 

They look at him, then each other, and nod, going in narrowly avoiding another jab of the alien’s stinger, holding its legs and therefore the rest of its body in place while it struggles. Gladion then wastes no time in grabbing an arm, yanking the rest of the creature down so he can wrap his arms around the neck, holding up the stinger as he shouts, “Guzma, arm!” 

It takes a second for the idea to click, but then Guzma realizes the plan, and though he’s already stepping forward he groans, “Aw man, I hate needles.” Still, he holds out his affected arm and winces a little at the pinch of the stinger, but then the UB is writhing, screeching as the others let go and watch it stagger on its feet for a moment before taking off. 

With a quick look around, the beach is almost completely clear of Buzzwole, with Kiawe and his family singing the stinger on the last one before the alien takes flight, joining the others as they escape into the air and over the ocean. Immediately, people start checking for injuries, Lillie and the others from the basement having run up and joined the battle a while ago, and now intent on making sure everyone is relatively unharmed. 

There’s also a moment of celebration in the air, one that catches Plumeria as she turns to look at Guzma and Gladion with a smirk. “What do y’know? The mongoose and the snake work together.” 

The two share a look, a grin growing on Guzma’s face as he sneers, “I call being the snake.” 

A scowl and grumble later and Gladion walks off, Moon and Plumeria sharing a look and quick chuckle before Moon follows after him, the two walking side-by-side back into the house as Gladion finally takes his much-needed break. 

* * *

“Hey kid, you have a second?” 

Gladion pauses, wood boards of the front porch creaking under his weight. He turns to see Guzma in the doorway of Burnet and Kukui’s house, looking at him with a thoughtful frown. Technically, he does have a second, considering he’s just on his way back to the apartment for a shower and change of clothes, but his eyes narrow all the same and he has a feeling he knows where this conversation is headed. 

“Don’t think what happened today means anything more than I’m willing to work with you to save the world.” He takes a few steps towards Guzma, an accusatory finger pointed at the other vampire’s chest as he mutters, “Because when all this is over, we both know you’re going back to your old ways.” 

Guzma raises a brow. “You really think I can with a soul?” 

But Gladion knows better, knows the type of cruelty that humans can enact on each other even without the excuse of a monstrous disposition. “Anyone can.” 

“Yeah, fair enough,” the Skull leader sighs, shrugging. He brushes past Gladion, taking a seat on the porch steps as he looks up at the night sky. Daybreak will come in a few hours, but for now the air is still, only the ocean bothering to make noise. The beach is empty, their padded mats put away and most everyone either getting some rest or burning the midnight oil inside. 

After a moment of their silence, Gladion huffs, “Is that all?” 

“No, I...” Guzma runs a hand through his hair, collecting the words as he stares back out at the sand. “I’m gonna ramble for a bit.” 

“Joy.” 

Finally, Guzma turns to look at him, scowling. “Listen, I’m trying to explain myself. Don’t get it twisted – this isn’t some ‘woe is me’ bullshit I just...I realized you don’t know much about me, and that’s hard to work with.” 

Gladion’s eyes narrow. “I lived with you for a year.” 

It was easily one of the worst years of his life, although to be fair, that wasn’t Guzma’s fault so much of his own. Soon after his siring, even with his soul, he felt hopeless with the realization that he very nearly fed on his own sister. The hunger was killing him, and the fear of eternity was already beginning to haunt him, and oddly enough the doors of Po Town opened with welcome arms and smiles. 

He tried living like a monster for a year, and he still regrets it, still knows that if he could go back and do it over he’d never have walked in through that gate. 

“You have any idea how long I’ve been alive?” Guzma’s voice brings him out of his thoughts, and suddenly the older vampire’s eyes aren’t irritated but just tired, dark circles prominent as he shakes his head. “A year is nothing.” 

Maybe that’s a fair point. After all, it’s not like they were ever close. 

Against his better judgement, Gladion sits down on the steps and listens. 

It takes Guzma a moment to speak, staring down at his hands as he fidgets with his thumbs. The quiet that surrounds him is calmer, but with an undercurrent of something shameful, something disturbed and brought to the surface. 

“I live with a war inside my head, kid.” He looks up, eyes unfocused, a look that Gladion can’t discern. “Ever since I got turned, I realized we can walk around pretending we’re at the top of the food chain, but we’re prey. I saw a lot of vamps I knew get staked, figured it was just a matter of time that I was a pile of dust unless I did something about it.” 

Guzma shakes his head, voice dipping low at the memory, his chuckle turning into a partial growl. “I was so angry at being hunted, so I became the hunter. It felt good, too, like I got some control, like I was on top, but it made the war louder. Made it want more.” 

Gladion looks away, his stomach turning at the sense of déjà vu. He knows what it’s like to want constant control, to grow up in an environment where you’re so aware that you’re at someone else’s mercy. 

“Plumeria helped calm it. I don’t need to tell you this, considering you’ve seen it, but she’s the only one we got who has a decent head on her shoulders – she loosened her morals, but she didn’t drop them entirely. And she kept us focused on other things, had us redirecting our rage in less destructive ways, and for a while we didn’t have a Slayer on the scene. It helped.” 

He remembers. Plumeria was the Skull he came closest to tolerating, and the vandalism and petty theft that at the time seemed like a strange brag or just another sin to chalk up is suddenly making sense in a way that’s tilting the world he knew just a little sideways. 

“Then Lusamine walks in.” Guzma lets out a nice, long breath he doesn’t need, resting his chin in one hand and clenching the other. “She uh, really has a talent. Knows how to get inside your head.” 

Gladion feels himself growing numb, tossed back into his own memories as he looks out, eyes trying to focus on the tide but only seeing endless white halls and a vicious smile. “She treats you like you’re something special. Dangles rewards in front of you. Then she keeps raising the bar so that you’ll never reach it, so she has an excuse to make it hurt.” 

Guzma hums in agreement, closing his eyes and trying not to grimace. “She fed the war and had it destroy me, then built me into whatever shape she wanted. And I let her.” 

“You don’t realize until it’s too late,” Gladion mumbles, and when he turns to look at the Skull leader, he looks less pugnacious, less rowdy, and more worn down, eroded and sculpted by years of living that Gladion will never see. The ones he does are starting to look more similar to his, parallels and overlaps that he still can’t quite accept but that appear before him all the same. 

An owl hoots somewhere, and Guzma’s shoulders drop, and how did Gladion never see the exhaustion? 

“All that to say you were right before. I was on the wrong side for too long, and I’m sorry. But I wanna use that war in me one last time, to fight this one, and then I just wanna let myself fucking relax for once.” He leans back, looking up at the stars as he mumbles, as if he’s in his own dream, “I want to know what peace feels like.” 

And Gladion’s mind jumps to the only peace he’s ever known. 

In the early hours of morning, after their night together and making sure to draw the curtains tight to keep out the sun, Moon fell asleep. He watched her, took in her parted lips as her breathing grew deeper, his head on her chest and listening to her heartbeat. She was so warm, and soft, and he didn’t know how long he watched her, occasionally tracing her cheekbones with a feather light touch. 

He smiles to himself. 

“It feels nice.” 

Guzma looks over, and his lips quirk up into a crooked grin. “Yeah?” When Gladion nods, the Skull leader turns to look back out at the sky, and there’s at least a century of waiting, of want in his voice when he whispers, “Then I can’t wait.” 

They sit together in the silence for a few minutes longer, and when Gladion finally stands to leave, he’s come to accept that there are parts of him reflected in Guzma, too. 

He finds he’s okay with that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mina would very much approve of this late night bro session talking about feelings and opening up, good job guys


	25. capture the flagrant normal

[[♪ Familia - Nicki Minaj, Anuel AA, Bantu ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEX9ht4bexQ)

_Moon, for a fifteen-year-old, has learned a lot of useful skills in the past two years. _

_“Do you know how to use that?” _

_One of them is the basics of how to use a flamethrower, which she’s currently holding as she and her younger brother stand outside their high school’s gym. They’ve managed to redirect the summoned demons and vampires into the barricaded building, but their makeshift locks won’t hold forever. _

_She adjusts her grip on the flamethrower, the streetlight above her casting shadows on her face, hiding her apprehension from Sun. “Technically yes.” _

_His eyes widen in awe, glancing back at the nearby gym and realizing that his sister is about to save the school, save Kanto, maybe even save the world. She just got her braces off and he’s just started high school but already, she’s a Slayer through and through. _

_“Listen, things are about to get rough, you need to get out of here.” _

_“But I can help,” he protests, because some part of him has always wanted to be a hero. It seems so much better than just being the Slayer’s brother, the normal, the quiet kid in the back of the class who no one seems to remember. _

_“Sun, I don’t even know if this is gonna work, so I really have no idea how you can help.” She takes a deep breath, telling him with a shrug, “I guess...be ready to call the fire department.” _

_And then she’s turning, kicking open the doors and shooting flames blindly around her. _

_He watches, the doors swinging shut behind her, and wishes he could, for once, protect her. _

_He wishes he had any sort of destiny waiting for him. _

* * *

Sun reminds himself that he’s not useless, which is a little hard to do when there’s nothing left for him to do. 

Kukui and Burnet are focusing all their energy on tracking wormholes, which he has no knowledge of, and investigating supernatural artifacts, which he has used all of his limited knowledge on already, and at this point is more of a distraction than help with how many questions he has to ask just to keep up. 

With the two other humans preoccupied, it means that he’s fresh out of partners to train with him, considering they’re getting too close to their final fight for supernatural beings to waste their time holding back to spar with a squishy human. 

Ilima had given him an apologetic smile. “I think you might want to sit out this sparring session,” He then leaned in his ear, purring with a smirk, “I promise we can have our own private one later.” 

And the unbearable heat crawling up Sun’s neck and across his cheeks, along with the plethora of images his brain conjured up kept him too embarrassed to get self-conscious about his human status on top of it for an hour. 

It all came flooding back when he went to the basement, though, thinking he might help out in their investigation of magic to deal with the UBs and portal, only to quickly realize that he couldn't keep up in conversation with the half-dozen druids, Hau, and Lillie when it came to magic. They brought up the Sun and Moon Flutes at one point, and he straightened, thinking maybe he’d be able to contribute, only for the druids to go on about the original myth, and it became clear that he was once again out of his league. 

Once they really started getting into it, talking about deities with names Sun can’t even pronounce, he slowly slinked back, slipping out of the room and up the stairs to the living room. 

Which is where he finds himself now, sitting at the kitchen table, his chin in his hand as he stares listlessly at a grimoire he opened to a random page, just to give himself the illusion that he’s finally being productive and helpful. 

“Don’t you look like a ray of sunshine.” 

The bored voice startles him, and he looks up into Nanu’s red eyes, realizing he must have drifted over here at some point. 

Sun raises a brow. “Was that a joke?” 

“It is what it is.” Nanu shrugs, then irreverent expression shifts a little more downwards into a frown. “You’re usually happier.” 

“Just feeling a little stressed – it doesn’t seem like there’s much left for me to do, but we’re still not completely ready,” Sun explains, bringing his eyes down to the grimoire, finger tracing the outline of a sketch of a selkie. He was hoping no one would catch onto him, least of all Nanu, but rather than the scoff or dismissal he expected, Nanu seems to actually be considering his words. 

“What else do we need?” 

“Something to help send the UBs back to Ultra Space, a weapon specifically made to defeat Lusamine, some sort of edge over Aether...” His voice trails off, and he runs a hand through his hair as his shoulders sag in frustration. “Just, _something.” _

They’re pretty well-prepared as it is, but it’s hard to ignore the hole in their plans left by the absence of the flutes. Maybe they don’t need some secret weapon, but it sure was nice when they had the comfort of one. At the very least, it would give him something to do, something to prove that he deserves to be a part of this fight just as much as everyone else. 

He can still be a hero. 

Nanu is lost in his own thoughts, shifting his weight as he mumbles, “If you want something on Aether, they have that outpost on Ula’ula.” 

“Really?” Sun perks up, eyes wide. 

But the ghost is immediately backtracking, frowning when he sees how excited the human is to follow what barely constitutes as a lead. “Wouldn’t bother with it, though. They’re probably keeping the place on lockdown, and their field agents are definitely in on the bigger plan.” 

“Right, right.” 

He sits back, but Nanu can still see the spark of determination in his eyes, the gears turning in his head as he comes up with what will no doubt be a reckless plan. 

And Nanu really doesn’t feel like being exorcised by the Slayer because he sent her brother straight into Lusamine’s clutches. 

“You’re not going there.” His tone is harsh and final, even as he begins to walk off, fixing the young man with a final glare before leaving. “Forget I said any of this and don’t go there.” 

Sun looks downright offended at the suggestion, shaking his head as he drawls, “I’d never.” 

* * *

Sun goes to the Aether House on Ula’ula Island. 

The real kicker is that he doesn’t tell anyone about it. 

If word got back to Nanu, no doubt the ghost would stop him; actually, if he stops to think about it, pretty much anyone would be trying to stop him. 

But it’s one of the only avenues they haven’t explored, and it’s not like he’s doing anything back at the house, so he waits until early morning, when most everyone has gone home for a nap or fallen asleep in the living room, grabs a flashlight, and heads for the ferry terminal. 

He’s delivered to the Aether House once or twice before, but he doesn’t remember it feeling so empty. To be fair, all of Ula’ula feels a little empty, the island still asleep as dawn just crawls over the horizon. Still, there’s something about the alabaster building with all its lights off and no signs of life that sends a shiver down his spine. 

One he probably shouldn’t ignore, but does all the same as he sneaks around to the back. 

There’s a padlock on the door, a rather flimsy one he can break with a few strikes of his flashlight – he doesn’t stop to wonder why a multimillion-dollar foundation would only spring for a cheap lock rather than proper security. That might slow him down (and might make him turn back, realizing what exactly he’s stepping into). 

He turns his flashlight on as he steps inside, closing the door behind him. The back room is barren, and he frowns. There’s a desk with no computer, filing cabinets with empty drawers hanging open. It feels like the building was evicted, like everyone working in the Aether House packed up all they could and left what they couldn’t to collect dust. 

Still, there has to be something. There_ has to be, _because if there isn’t then this is just another dead-end that will remind him he’s never really had a place on this team, that he’s just fooled himself into thinking he could keep up. 

The flashlight shines on a set of drawers, unopened, and he decides he’ll start his investigation there. He walks over and crouches down, sliding open the bottom drawer and frowning when all that’s left is a receipt. He picks it up, squinting to read it in the flashlight’s beam, and slowly realizing it’s just for someone’s lunch. 

What he doesn’t realize is that someone is sneaking up behind him. 

A _ whack _disturbs the silence, followed by the thud of Sun’s body as the Nihilego poison covering the baton that’s just struck him works its way through his system. He clings to consciousness, his hand going for the flashlight on the floor to bring it up and strike the hidden Aether employee, but it’s knocked out of his hand with another strike from the baton. 

His head is aching, and his muscles are crying out from the poison, and all he can think as his vision grows fuzzier, black tunnel closing in, is that he just broke his streak of avoiding kidnappings.

* * *

_ I’m constantly torn between telling those I love the truth of what I am, and keeping it secret. I do not want to put them in danger, but I am now so aware of how much danger they are always in. I only want them safe. _

** _ Excerpt from a diary of an unidentified Slayer _ **

* * *

Moon steps out of the shower and grabs a towel, more than thankful she had the spare hour to go home and get some of the grime off. She spent last night sparring with some Skull grunts, Plumeria realizing they could keep them from getting too rowdy if they drained more of their energy, and while she was proud to be able to hold her own, a fair amount of sweat still accumulated. 

She’s just finished up changing, about to dry her hair properly, when there’s a knock on the door, somewhat urgent. 

It reminds her a little of their recent run-in with the representative the Council sent. Her and Kukui had been expecting it, knowing their activity wouldn’t go unnoticed, but also knowing that outside of bureaucracy and empty threats about titles, the Council doesn’t do much. Heaven forbid they actually get involved in things, that’s what they send their little Slayers to do. 

Moon can’t help but chuckle at the memory of opening the door of Kukui and Burnet’s place, seeing some middle-aged man in a tailored suit with a black cloak over his shoulders frowning at her. 

“You are in violation of the rules of the Slayer,” he’d scoffed. 

She’d smiled. “Yup.” 

“Cease at once.” 

She’d smiled even wider. “Nope.” 

And then she shut the door on his gaping face, and it felt so good to know it really was that simple to take power away from the Council. After all, they’d trapped themselves into being unable to do much with all their formalities, and they aren’t the ones with superhuman powers. 

When she answers her apartment door, however, it’s her mom standing there, a letter clutched in her hand. 

“Hey Mom,” she drawled, only to realize that her mother’s cheeks were wet, eyes rimmed red and body shaking. With a frown, she guides her mom inside her apartment, shutting the door behind them as she asks, “What’s wrong?” 

She holds up the letter, shaking her head as her wide eyes search her daughter’s face. “M-Moon, I don’t...they have...” 

The stationary is a sickeningly familiar white, green, and gold. 

Moon takes the letter, feeling her heart and stomach plummet through the ground. Her own fingers are starting to shake, fumbling to open the letter only for a photo to fall out and onto the ground. 

A photo of her younger brother, bound to a chair and unconscious. 

“They have Sun.” 

But they can’t, because no one’s gone after him in so long, no one’s gotten past her to get to him. 

Her mother is looking at her now, so confused and hurt and lost. “I-I don’t understand,” she mumbles, because no one told her the world is ending. “What’s going on, Moonbeam?” 

“I’m sorry.” 

It’s a choked gasp, and Moon realizes she’s crying a little, but she can’t cry – her mom needs her, Sun needs her, and she’s supposed to save them. 

“Is he going to be okay? They...I don’t understand what they want.” 

She pulls her mom into a hug, accidentally stepping on the photo on the ground, crumpling the letter in her hand. “It’s my fault, I-I'll get him back.” 

“Will you be safe?” she whispers. 

Moon buries her head further into her mother’s chest. 

“I’ll get him back, Mom. Promise.” 

* * *

The others don’t dare to look at her, and she knows that no one wants to be the first to disagree with her. She’s gathered them in the basement, away from the others; her original team surrounds her, along with the two Skull leaders in the corner. 

They end up being the first to break the silence, Plumeria sighing as she mumbles, “I don’t know if we’re ready.” 

Moon shakes her head, gripping the letter tighter in her grasp. “We don’t have a choice.” 

“It’s another trap,” Guzma points out, and the others hesitate, because they agree but can’t bring themselves to admit it. 

“I know.” Moon leans against Lillie’s desk, looking at her friends and unexpected allies with a plea in her eyes as she tells them, “But he’s my brother, so I’m not saving the world unless he’s in it, safe and sound.” 

There isn’t room for argument – those who know Sun don’t have any argument because they want him just as safe and happy as she does. 

Burnet keeps her eyes on the ground, voice heavy with insinuation. “Molayne’s reported a drop in wormhole activity, too.” 

“She’s ready for us.” Kukui picks it up, and the others freeze, try not to fidget at the realization that no matter how much more they prepare, they’re only stalling the inevitable. 

The end has just begun. 

Gladion steps forward, and he takes one of Moon’s hands in his own, looks up at Lillie and knows he would do the same for her in a heartbeat. 

He doesn’t let himself have hope often, but when he looks around at their group, knows how far they’ve come and what exactly they’re fighting for, he can’t help the glimmer in his eyes. 

“And we’re ready for her.” 

* * *

_Moon, for a fifteen-year-old, has learned a lot of useful skills in the past two years._

_“Do you know how to use that?” _

_One of them is the basics of how to use a flamethrower, which she’s currently holding as she and her younger brother stand outside their high school’s gym. They’ve managed to redirect the summoned demons and vampires into the barricaded building, but their makeshift locks won’t hold forever. _

_She adjusts her grip on the flamethrower, the streetlight above her casting shadows on her face, hiding her apprehension from Sun. “Technically yes.” _

_Her eyes glance back to the double doors of the gym, watching them shift as the pounding from the other side grows louder. She hesitates, the flamethrower feeling heavy in her hands and her stomach twisting so much that even though she feels like vomiting, she’s pretty sure she physically can’t anymore. _

_“Listen, things are about to get rough, you need to get out of here.” _

_“But I can help,” he protests, and her chest clenches because he’s her baby brother, little Sunshine who’s always followed her around and wanted to play with the bigger kids. He’s growing up to be so clever and charming and he’s still growing, she needs him to be safe to grow into the person she knows he can be. _

_“Sun, I don’t even know if this is gonna work, so I really have no idea how you can help.” Her legs are starting to shake so she locks her knees, taking a deep breath as she tells him in a quiet, wavering voice, “I guess...be ready to call the fire department.” _

_And then she’s turning, kicking open the doors and shooting flames blindly around her. _

_She knows she has to succeed, can’t let any of the monsters rushing for her escape, because that puts Sun in danger, she always puts Sun in danger and will continue to just because of her calling. _

_She wishes she didn’t have any sort of destiny waiting for her. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little short and a little late, but the next two chapters are behemoths as we face our final showdown and the direct aftermath of it


	26. slay her

[ [♪ The Apocalypse Song - St. Vincent ♪] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68rXwBtNsy8)

The bright fluorescents do nothing to dull Sun’s headache as he blearily blinks, eyes opening slowly and squinting as he wakes. 

“Ah, good.” 

It’s a somewhat familiar voice, but it snaps him fully to consciousness as he becomes incredibly aware that he’s in a bright, white room and bound to a chair. When he looks over at the source of the voice, heart racing, he finds a smiling face with coiffed purple hair, watching him as he rouses before walking over to his chair and making quick work of the rope restraints. 

Wicke made sure she was assigned to keep watch over the Slayer’s brother, picking one of the few rooms that didn’t have a security camera to keep him in and making sure to keep everyone else out. 

Once the ropes tying him to the chair fall, she quickly walks to a counter, picking up the glass she prepared and filling it with water from the sink. This room used to be a lab, still has some of the accoutrement of it, but like much of Aether Paradise, its purpose has since been altered in the years of Lusamine’s decaying mind. 

Sun gratefully accepts the water, chugging half the glass before he registers that Wicke is asking him, “How are you feeling?” 

“Like an idiot.” She gives him a sympathetic smile and he finishes the rest of the water, Wicke taking the glass to set it back on the counter as he wipes his mouth, eyes drifting to a wall filled with string and photos. 

On the less chaotic end of the wall hangs a copy of a daguerreotype, a young woman with sharp eyes giving him a familiar stare, until he realizes it’s Plumeria at the turn of the century. The photo must have been taken before her siring, as there’s a flush to her cheeks and she looks just a few years younger than she does now. 

A white string then draws his eye to the next two photos of young woman, though it’s hard to make out much of their faces when a red X has been drawn over both of them in thick Sharpie. The one closest to Plumeria is also a copy of an old photo, black and white, and from what he can make out the young woman has her hair in victory rolls and a tweed blazer on. Following the string with his eyes, the next photo looks like it might be from the seventies, a teenage girl posing on some grass, her hands holding up peace signs as her legs stretch out in corduroy pants. From both photos of strangers, red string connects them to a blurry photo of Guzma above. 

But It's what comes next that has Sun standing, going to the wall with wide eyes and parted lips. 

The white string continues into an explosion of photos, some taken from yearbooks or social media pages, others clearly candids from hidden positions, with figures blurred and foliage in the corners. 

It’s all photos of his family, with every instance of Moon’s face circled in red. 

“What is all this?” he whispers, his throat dry as he realizes there’s a team photo from when he played lacrosse in high school, only for his entire body to grow cold when he sees a recent photo, clearly taken behind some bushes, of their mother picking up her morning paper outside her door. 

“After the Coven of the Arcane Feminine reached out to Lusamine, only to reject her, she began to research them.” Wicke walks up to his side, arms crossed and body stiff as she explains, “When she found out about the flutes, she became obsessed with making sure Alola had no Slayer. She constructed this little timeline of confirmed Slayers, realized Guzma took out two of them and Plumeria had been turned, recruited them, and then used our field agents to try and track down the current Slayer.” 

They stare a moment longer, and Sun feels a simmering rage building up in his body at the thought that someone has been watching him, watching his sister and mother and painting targets on their back. 

He takes a deep breath, turning to Wicke with a smirk and knowing he’s had enough of being bait. “Well since I’m here, mind if I swing by and grab Nebby on my way out?” 

“Great minds think alike.” She shares his grin, turning and picking up the rope used to restrain him from the floor before softly frowning. “Now, I’m sorry to force this on you when I only just untied you, but I may be able to sneak us into the lab where the wormhole generator and Nebby are kept if you still appear to be a hostage.” 

“Right...” He nods, and holds his hands together behind his back as she loosely binds them. As she ties the knot, he realizes that he wouldn’t be much of a hostage without someone asking for ransom, and he begins to ask, “Did they–” 

“Lusamine had them send a cryptic note to your mother. I have no doubt that she’s shown it to your sister.” Wicke looks at her handiwork, satisfied with it and stepping back. 

Sun takes a deep breath, knowing that means Moon will be here, but this time around he doesn’t have to wait for her to save him. 

“Then I guess today’s the day we save the world.” 

“I suppose it is.” Wicke meets his eyes, giving him a nod as she places a hand between his shoulder blades and leads them to the door, humming absent-mindedly, “What a lovely day for it.” 

And as they step out, two humans in the midst of the entropy of a supernatural universe, he finds he couldn’t agree more. 

* * *

The house is a flurry of movement, last minute preparations underway at impossible speeds. Plumeria and Guzma gather their grunts, final instructions and warnings being shared. Kukui has taken to distributing weapons, Acerola looking incredibly thrilled with the mace he passes off to her. Hau helps Lillie with her coat, carefully pulling her ponytail up and out of it as she tries to keep her hands steady, the two whispering as she keeps her breathing even at the thought of what was once her mother. 

Gladion weaves his way through the crowd, making his way to the ladder up to the loft. When he reaches the top, he sees Moon crouched in front of a shelf, quickly zipping up her backpack as she turns to look at him, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she stands, shouldering her bag. 

“Hey.” Her voice is tired, frazzled at the edges, but her smile grows at the sight of him. 

“Hey.” He steps forward, one of his hands nearly reaching out for hers but stopping, because it feels wrong somehow, like he’s trying to steal a moment that isn’t theirs, not when the world is ending. Instead he clears his throat. “How are you feeling?” 

She sighs, a hand going to massage the junction of her neck and back. “I’ve been better. You?” 

“Holding up,” he mumbles, his gaze going to the floor as he curses his voice for wavering into something flustered as he adds, “I just...wanted a chance to be with you alone.” 

Then she’s stepping forward, her chest swelling as she closes the gap between them and takes her hands in his, interweaving their fingers as she gives him a small smile. 

“Yeah, a little hard to get a quiet moment in what’s essentially a frat house now.” 

They both laugh, and then there’s quiet between them, comfortable but electric as he runs his thumbs along her knuckles. He knows what he wants to say to her, but it’s so much harder when she’s actually in front of him, not to mention the timing. It’s taken him this long to admit that three little words are true, but actually saying them becomes near impossible, the syllables getting stuck in his throat as he reminds himself that he doesn’t want to go into their biggest fight with any regrets. 

But the words are too precious for a moment like this, feel too weighted and warm when she’s still tense and he’s anxious, so he switches tactics. 

“I also wanted to tell you that I changed my answer about what I want when all this is over.” 

She raises a brow. “No dog now?” 

“I'm absolutely getting a dog,” he says in all seriousness, and her laugh is small but bright as he squeezes her hands, tells himself not to back out at the last moment. “But not without you.” 

Her eyes widen, and he knows she’s managed to understand, lips parting as she breathes his name so sweetly that he’s leaning down, his lips sliding over hers with a restrained urgency. She’s returning it, her hands sliding out of his to travel up his chest, and he brings her closer as they part, foreheads resting against each other and neither daring to open their eyes. 

“Gladion, I...” 

Moon’s breath hitches – she didn’t think it would make her cry, but then she didn’t think she’d be saying this to anyone in her life. Their eyes open and meet, and they both know but she wishes she could just say it, just tell him what she’s known for some time now. 

Burnet’s voice rings out in the living room below. “Head out to the boats.” 

The moment is gone, though they both stay in it for a moment longer, Gladion brushing his lips against her cheek as she mumbles, “I think that’s our cue.” 

Footsteps shuffle below, voices shouting as everyone gathers, trying to feel ready for the unknown. 

“We should talk later,” he tells her, pulling back, and his hand reaches for hers once again, fingertips brushing, lingering as he walks towards the ladder. 

She gives him a broken smile and a nod. 

But there isn’t much between them that can be built on promises. 

* * *

The alarm in Aether Paradise has gone off, signaling intruders, and it makes it all the easier for Wicke to guide Sun down to the second lower level, the employees rushing past them not bothering to give them a second glance when they know the Slayer and her forces are rushing the building. 

When they reach the lab, Wicke is quick to untie the rope binding Sun’s wrists, explaining, “Now we won’t have much time before Lusamine arrives.” 

Sun nods, head turning to take in the massive machinery of the wormhole generator, along with the clear control center off to the side. As his eyes scan the room, he notices a pedestal with nothing on top of it, beginning to step towards it. “Got it, where’s...” 

“Looking for something?” 

They turn, stomachs dropping as their eyes lock on Lusamine, who stands behind them with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, holding a glass container with an incredibly distressed and tired Nebby inside. Sun blinks, feeling something’s off and realizing that Lusamine’s long hair is now black, only a few strands of blonde reminding him of her original hair color, and her legs have taken on a faintly purple hue. 

“I must say Wicke, I didn’t expect you to betray me.” Her smile, if it could be called that, drops into a scowl, her eyes narrowing at the other woman. “I thought you knew your place.” 

Behind her, a handful of scientists filter in, heading to the control center, the masks of their hazmat suits glinting in the light. 

Wicke pays them no mind, her focus entirely on Lusamine as she steps forward, voice resolute and chin raised, because with how long she’s had to play the double agent, she has more than few things to say. 

“I do. It’s on this earth, the one I can’t let you destroy.” 

Lusamine’s eyes narrow as she tsks, “Such audacity from a human. If you were smart, you would fear me.” 

“If you were smart, you wouldn’t underestimate humans.” 

She hums in response, her annoyance thinly veiled, eyeroll barely suppressed. “Charming, but it holds less weight when I can so easily snap your frail bodies.” 

Then her gaze drifts behind Wicke, to the young man whose gray eyes are fixed on the glass container in her hands. 

“Shall I provide an example?” 

Sun rises into the air, gasping for breath as his hands go to his throat, desperate to fight against the phantom pressure. Wicke watches with wide, fearful eyes, turning to look at Lusamine who only flicks her wrist to lift the young man higher, a vicious grin cracking her face. 

“It would be so easy to end his life.” Just to prove it, she squeezes a little tighter, has him gasping a little more as his feet slow their kicks, body beginning to succumb. “I might be convinced not to if you would so kindly hook up the key.” 

“Release him first,” Wicke demands, stepping towards her all the same. 

“Now now, dear,” she tuts, lifting Sun higher as he struggles to keep his eyes open. “We both know I’m a better negotiator.” 

Wicke considers it for a moment longer, but then her eyes lock with Sun and her chest clenches at the sight of the poor boy trying to put up a fight in the air. She steps forward, taking the glass container containing Nebby from Lusamine, and walks to the pedestal, hooking up the UB to the machinery. 

True to her word, Lusamine drops Sun, Wicke running to him and helping him up and out of the way as the scientists start up the machine. The wormhole generator comes to life, and the fabric of space and time is torn. Lusamine lifts her hands, aiming a green spell directly at Nebby as the creature lets out an anguished cry and the laboratory fills with blinding light. 

* * *

_ For my body is a weapon, one that I have created, one that I use against those who seek to hurt others, one that I will wield until it destroys me. _

** _ Translated from oldest surviving document written by a Slayer _ **

* * *

The second they dock their boats, they’re running like a well-oiled machine. 

Nanu and Acerola stay behind to watch over their escape, as well as take care of any possible reinforcements sent in. The Coven of the Arcane Feminine follow Sophocles and Molayne, guarding the celestials as they journey to Aether Paradise’s technology hub in order to override the security and elevator access. 

As the rest of them continue out of the docks and towards the main laboratory on the second lower level, druids from all four islands begin taking care of Aether employees, disarming and distracting them to allow the others to continue on without burning too much energy. 

It’s all going well. 

And then it isn’t. 

When they step off the elevator and into the hallway just outside the subterranean laboratory, the air is off somehow. They walk slowly, eyes scanning for danger as they grip their weapons tighter or prepare their spells. A light in the ceiling flickers, and then there isn’t a light at all, and then they blink and it’s back. 

The corners of their vision feel fuzzy, like things are shifting in and out of focus, growing transparent only to disappear when they turn, or reappear when they look back. 

Guzma is the first to speak, his usual gruff tone quieter, more subdued as he mutters, “Anybody else got a bad feeling?” 

For a moment, there isn’t any sound in the world – the ceiling lights don’t buzz, their steps don’t echo. 

Then they’re blinded, vision bathed in white, and when they recover, it’s an explosion of sound and fury. 

Ultra Beasts line the halls where once there were none, and it seems like more and more flicker into existence with each passing moment. The Skull grunts are quick to act, attacking the aliens closest to them, some others joining them as the rest rush to the end of the hall, Moon throwing open the door of the laboratory. 

The portal stretches from floor to ceiling, blinking in and out of existence, the marble walls stretching and fluctuating with the drain on reality. UBs fill the room, crowding the space as they blink in and out of existence. 

Wicke and Sun are at the control center, Sun using a chair to swing at Ultra Beasts that come too close and Wicke typing away at computers, desperately trying to shut the machine off, though it would do little to fix the tear in their universe. In the center of the room, still floating in his glass container, is Nebby, but in a strange form, with eyes closed and body completely still. 

Moon can feel the pull of the wormhole, can see the writing on the wall, and feels bile threatening to rise. 

“We’re too late.” 

A Pheromosa appears next to their group, Burnet shouting as she fires her crossbow at the creature, only for her crossbow to tilt directions, as though the air has become a liquid and something’s caused a ripple. She gapes, realizing their universe’s laws are beginning to break down, that it’ll only continue the longer the portal remains, and shouts, “Where’s Lusamine?” 

As their group makes slow progress into the room, Gladion managing to toss a Nihilego and ignoring the poison that seeps into his hand, Lillie shooting a ray of frost only to watch it melt in the air, Hau is the first to spot her. He points at the very center of the wormhole, eyes widening. 

“It’s not Lusamine.” 

Her black hair floats around her, trapped in the head of a Nihilego as her purple legs float below along with semi-transparent tentacles. Her arms rest in the two largest of the tentacles, spiked barbs at their ends. She smiles widely, maniacally, cackling as she watches the world fall apart in front of her. 

“So good of you all to join us,” she shouts when she sees them trying to get closer. Raising an arm, a tentacles points in their direction and the UBs around her turn, sizes fluctuating. 

“It’ll be such a pleasure knowing you’re all the first to go.” 

The Ultra Beasts descend on them, Guzma and Plumeria diving for the Celesteela while Kukui and Burnet try to take out a group of Nihilego. Hau tries to take care of the Xurkitree, but when he goes to summon earth, he finds he’s instead controlling marble, the stone uncooperative and moving too slowly to be effective, forcing him to dodge the Xurkitree’s arm as the creature attacks him. 

Lillie aims a bolt of blue energy at Lusamine, Gladion and Moon trying to use the opportunity to run and grab her, but Lusamine’s shell around her head seems to simply absorb the spell, and Moon is knocked to the side by a Buzzwole. When Gladion does manage to reach her, she grabs him with a tentacle, the spikes digging into his skin and injecting a poison he’s all too familiar with before throwing him across the room. 

No matter how many times someone makes a run for her, Lusamine seems to anticipate it, or another Ultra Beast appears to occupy them, forcing them further and further back towards the entrance of the laboratory. They try to hide behind machinery, try to regroup as Plumeria is thrown back by a Guzzlord, body sliding down the wall before she crawls over to where Guzma hides behind a wall of consoles. 

“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” he hisses, stealing a glance to see that the area between them and Lusamine has essentially become a no man’s land, UBs beginning to blink out as sections of the floor become black voids. 

Kukui leans out to shoot a crossbow bolt at Lusamine, but she stops it mid-air, laughing when it hits the floor and evaporates. 

He grits his teeth, turning to the others as he shouts, “Keep fighting! She has to have a weakness.” 

Moon tries to catch her breath, looking around at their group as Burnet attempts to go into no man’s land, only for a Xurkitree to strike her, Kukui rushing out to pull her back into their hiding space. 

They’re all badly hurt, and it’s only been minutes. Hau is clearly trying to work with a sprained wrist, and Lillie’s cheek sports a large bruise from where a Pheromosa kicked her. She doesn’t even know the state of Sun and Wicke, can only imagine what they must look like when she glances over at Burnet to see the gash on her leg, looks to her side and finds Gladion wiping away at the black liquid pooling at a deep cut on his forehead. 

Lusamine is just getting started, but they’re all already at the end of their rope. 

She has to have a weakness. 

Moon knows what it is. 

She takes off her backpack, ignoring the pain in her ribs as her body shifts. Gladion turns, about to ask what she’s doing when he sees her opening it for the first time tonight. 

When she feels his gaze on her, her movements stop. She looks up at him, a black eye forming, and he freezes as she feels her stomach flip and leans up. 

Her hands are cupping his face and she’s kissing him, but it’s not as passionate or desperate as the others have been. It’s a clear choice, gentle on his lips as her fingers delicately trace his cheeks. He melts into it a moment too late, and she’s pulling away, her forehead against his and a sad, small smile left on her lips as he slowly realizes what this is. 

“I love you.” She takes a deep, shaky breath and he opens his mouth but no sound comes out. Her eyes are wet for a moment and then she blinks, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek and whispering against his skin, “I’m sorry it took me this long to say it.” 

And then she’s gone, out of his arms, pulling something out of her bag and dashing across no man’s land as the others scream her name. 

He can only watch, feeling something in his chest shatter. 

It wasn’t a kiss; it was a goodbye. 

With the Sun Flute in hand, Moon dodges Ultra Beasts, Plumeria and Guzma running after her and tackling a Buzzowle that nearly grabs her. Her legs are begging for mercy, and she’s careful not to step into the voids of nothing that have scattered across the ground. 

When she’s close enough, Lusamine grabs her with a tentacle, but she’s quick to wriggle her right hand out of the grasp, holding up the flute. 

“No.” The chaos around them pauses, as if the universe is listening and waiting. Lusamine’s eyes widen as they catch on the Sun Flute, the orange hues seeming to burn her as she roars, fills the whole room with her voice so that it smacks against their bodies as she screeches, _“N O, Y O U W O U L D N ‘ T D A R E!” _

Originally, the Sun Flute would only put a stop to her plans, getting rid of all active Ultra Beasts and sealing the portal behind them, saving the world from collapsing at their existence. 

Now, it will destroy her, seeing her as yet another UB to send off to Ultra Space, only for what’s left of her body to be destroyed in the process. 

For the first time, Moon sees fear on the woman’s face, can feel a tremor in the tentacle that holds her, and in a strange turn of serenity as she remembers the stagnation, the stasis, the need to control an entire universe’s demise, she comes to a single revelation. 

“You’re afraid of death.” 

Lusamine drops her, the Slayer collapsing to the ground and standing on shaking legs, gripping the Sun Flute tighter. As she struggles to remain standing, Lusamine hovers closer to her, inches from her form as she becomes desperate, grasping at her old ways as she snarls, “You’ll die, too! I can see it, you’re just as afraid.” 

Moon knows. 

She’s known ever since she was thirteen that one day, she will die. 

And she raises the flute higher, gray eyes hardening as she smirks. 

“I’m a Slayer. I’m not afraid of anything.” 

The flute glows, and the others watch as the spirit of a large Ultra Beast, some sort of lion, forms on top of Moon. It gives a roar, and the room is impossibly hot, and then as Lusamine shrieks, the room is filled for the second time that day by a brilliant, blinding light. 

It feels like the full force of a new dawn. 

* * *

The world is quiet. 

Every Ultra Beast is gone, except for a sleeping bundle of energy that was once Nebby on the platform. Lusamine is gone, no signs of her existence left except broken machinery. The portal is gone, time and space stitching themselves back together and hiding the seam from their eyes. 

Moon is gone. 

Gladion is the first to step out, to walk up to the platform, and every step echoes in their chests. He stops, picks up the Sun Flute, feels the warm glass against his skin even though he’s beginning to feel numb. 

A strange silence descends the room, when they know they’ve achieved peace, when they can see the cost in the blank spaces that the war has left. 

Moon is gone. 

And the world is quiet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miscalculated when a party was so y'all are getting this chapter earlier, because it would be a little too cruel of me to postpone digesting this
> 
> next chapter is a sad one, folks


	27. blue alola

[[♪ Tomorrow - Daughter ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EqExZlHNp4)

Sun’s been staying in his mom’s guest room – he thought it might make things easier, and neither of them want to be alone right now. 

He wakes up for the third time tonight, eyes staring up listlessly at the ceiling. The nightmares are getting easier to handle, don’t have him waking up and screaming, but they aren’t any less frequent in the week following their showdown with Lusamine. 

A week since his sister– 

_ Water, _he thinks, standing with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, _I need water. _

When he walks into the living room on his way to the kitchen, he stops, rubbing at his eyes as he realizes the lamp by the armchair is on. 

“Mom? What are you...?” 

She looks up as he walks over, and he can see there’s a pile of scrapbooks and old yearbooks by her feet, along with the one in her hands. Her brows furrow, and it still feels like she’s looking at him through a fog that won’t leave her. 

“Oh, Sunshine I’m sorry, did I wake you?” 

“No.” He settles himself onto the arm of the chair with a frown. “It’s late, though. You should get some sleep.” 

Her eyes drift to the door, face falling as she mumbles, “I know, I’m just...” 

Waiting. 

They’ve both been waiting, in a way, holding their breath and slowly suffocating themselves on a hope that’s almost worse than the grief. The world goes on but they can’t move with it, trapped in the waiting and willing it to break their hearts. 

“I found this old scrapbook.” He looks down, watches his mother’s fingers turn the page and trace a photo of a five-year-old Sun frowning at the bus stop while his father holds his hand with a smile; he had the same dimple Moon did. “From your elementary school days.” 

Sun frowns. “I look constipated in every photo.” 

“Don’t say that, you were a beautiful little boy,” she admonishes, giving his leg an assuring pat before her gaze goes back to the photos. She flips the page, and there’s Moon’s third grade school photo smiling up at them. “And your sister...” 

Her voice is raw at the edges, reminds him of what it sounded like a few hours after he showed up at her door. She was so happy to see him safe, hugging him and rambling until she realized his cheeks were wet, that his bottom lip was trembling, and when she asked him softly where his sister was, he broke down entirely. He kept saying he was sorry, that he didn’t know what to do, and she listened as she held him, her own tears beginning to fall. In the silence that followed, her voice was weak, a scratched-up and pathetic thing as she tried to soothe him around her own sobs. 

Now, his mother takes a deep breath, tracing the curves of the peter pan collar in the photo – it was Moon’s favorite dress, and she’d go days insisting she wouldn’t wear anything else and the thought has her eyes growing wet, her breathing shaky. 

“She liked blue, and dragons, and said she was going to be a pharmacist, just like Dad. I knew her inside and out, saw her curiosity and compassion, and I think...I think that’s why I keep looking at these photos.” 

A tear falls onto the photograph, and Sun wraps an arm around her shoulders, covering them both in the blanket though they can’t feel the warmth. She covers his hand with hers, shaking her head. 

“Because that’s the problem with all children. You all grow up and become mysteries to your parents.” Her hand is trembling as she wipes at her eyes, the words sticking to her throat and dragging along like thorns as she whispers, “We just...don’t expect to lose you so quickly. To not get the chance to see who you’ve become.” 

He’s hugging her as she cries silently. He might cry, too, but he’s too numb at this point, has spent the past few days sobbing and screaming and feeling his heart beat painfully against his chest and now he doesn’t feel much at all. 

They stay like that for a few moments, and then his mom’s gaze drifts back to the school photo in her lap. “When did she know that she was Chosen?” 

“A little after her thirteenth birthday.” He remembers it well, remembers wishing it was him instead – he still does, would trade places with her in a heartbeat if it meant she could live. “She started floating above her bed and glowing, then she got slammed down and she was crying, saying something had changed forever.” 

His mother’s hands clench into fists, a sour taste invading her mouth as she asks, “And they started training her?” 

He nods. “Yeah, at the old dojo.” 

“They shouldn’t have. They had no right.” Her voice is acidic, a fury boiling over. “She didn’t know what they were preparing her for.” 

With a sigh, he hugs her tighter, looks at that school photo and knows even if he tried to take her place instead, she’d never have allowed it. “Not at first, no, and that’s why she rejected it. But she’s known for a while what her title meant. What it might cost.” 

“And she did it anyway. Because she’s our Moonbeam.” 

His mom shifts in her seat, stiffens as she bites back a sob and closes her eyes. 

_ “Was.” _

The word stings, but everything feels dull to him now. He stands, mumbling past the lump in his throat, “We should go to bed now.” 

“I know, I know, I’m...” She puts the scrapbook on the floor, and he turns to watch her as she looks up at him. Has his mother always been this small? Her body is hunched and her face is twisted into a cry as she shakes her head and the tears come back, rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Sunshine. I just wanted to protect you both and I couldn’t.” 

“It’s not your fault.” And he means it, wraps her in another hug as she stands. His hand rubs circles into her back, and he can feel his shirt getting soaked by the tears, but it’s all far-away, all swallowed up by some void that’s growing within him. 

His mom’s sobs grow quieter, her breathing returning to normal as she mutters bitterly, “But I pushed her away. She told me about this part of her life and I tried to make it go away, but it just meant she couldn’t trust me.” 

“She trusted you.” He pulls back to look at her, his face not quite a smile. “She didn’t want to worry you. And she would want you getting some sleep.” 

He walks her to her bedroom before going back out to the living room to turn off the light. His foot accidentally knocks against the stack of memorabilia, and he mutters under his breath, crouching down to pile them once more. 

Then he stops, a scrapbook in his hands, and opens it. 

Moon, eighteen and holding her college acceptance letter, smiles up at him. 

And suddenly the void in him is in reverse, unleashing everything it’s swallowed and drowning him as sobs wrack his body, his hands gripping the scrapbook for dear life as guilt, anger, and an unrelenting sorrow ravage him, leaving him unable to breathe as he cries and resigns himself to the waiting. 

* * *

Kukui goes back to Melemele High, apologizes to his students for his absence with a smile, continues their lesson on natural selection and answers their questions with his usual jokes and thought-out explanations. 

And when he comes home, the smile drops and the quiet creeps in. 

Burnet sits with him in it, rests her head on his shoulder as they sit on the beach and watch dusk paint the sky in blues and purples, waves gently crashing against the sand. Her voice is small as she tells him, “It’s not your fault.” 

“Her safety was my responsibility.” His gaze hardens, and his tone is clipped, a far cry from his usual warmth. “Another Watcher, a_ better _Watcher, would have stepped in.” 

“Another Watcher wouldn’t have cared so deeply.” 

He shakes his head, unhearing as he sighs, “I was so happy to have her back, and for what? To send her to her death?” 

“You fought by her side. You allowed her agency.” She lifts her head, uses her hand to gently guide him to look at her as she tells him, all adoration and understanding, “You let her become the Slayer she was meant to be.” 

His hand covers hers, and he holds it, lets her shoulder some of the grief, the frustration, as they both look back out at the sea. 

“They’ll try and reassign me soon.” 

She looks up at him out of the corner of her eyes, frowning. “What’ll you do?” 

“I won’t take it.” He has to clear his throat, feeling it grow tight as he whispers, “I won’t be responsible for another girl’s death.” 

A warm breeze blows past them, disturbing their hair. Burnet tucks a stray strand behind her ear, humming in thought. “Sometimes a system is so broken, there’s nothing left to fix it.” 

Kukui looks down at her, and she looks back up at him with the closest thing to hope that either has felt as she tells him softly, urgently, “And then you start a new one.” 

* * *

Two weeks after they saved the world, and Po Town is still uncharacteristically quiet. Skulls slink about, unsure what to do with themselves, or where they fall in the aftermath. 

In their room, Guzma watches from his armchair as Plumeria paces; she’s been restless for days now, unable to contain an anger that bites, snaps at everyone in her path. 

“This is such bullshit,” she spits, stopping in her pacing to kick the wall. 

Guzma’s voice is soft. It’s been softer recently, everything about him is losing some sharpness. “I know, Plumeria.” 

“She saves the world and they won’t even let her have a funeral.” She throws her hands up, looks like she might tear her hair out as she laughs humorlessly, empty. “I mean, if the Council is so great, just cover it up – no, no they always just pretend it doesn’t exist, ignore it. She gave them her life, they don’t get to take her legacy, too!” 

Guzma nods, standing. “I know, Plumeria.” 

Tears form in the corners of her eyes, hot and angry as she faces him, unleashes a pain that is hers and her foremothers’ as she roars, “And it’s just such, such utter _bullshit _because she has family, and friends, and what are they supposed to do? They can’t even mourn her properly because these bastards don’t see her as human!” 

“I know, Plumeria.” He hugs her, lets her scream and cry into his chest as she claws at the fabric of his shirt, and he just keeps holding her, mumbling into her hair, “I know.” 

* * *

“Hau, please–” 

“No.” He’s never raised his voice at her, but his tone is sterner than she’s ever heard it. His eyes go to the book on necromancy on her desk, shaking his head as he crosses his arms. “No, you’re not giving up your soul to bring her back. That’s not what she would have wanted.” 

Lillie opens her mouth to argue, but no sound comes out and her shoulders deflate, her voice cracking. “I-I know.” 

He softens immediately, takes her into his arms. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, I am.” She hugs him tighter, takes a deep breath and lets it fill her lungs until they hurt. “I-I’ve completely overreacted, stepped on your grief with my own.” 

“You’re allowed to grieve, Lillie. She was your friend, too.” 

“But she was like a sister to you. I can’t imagine what...” 

Her voice trails off and leaves them in silence, holding each other. Lillie glances over at the cauldron in the center of the room, where Nebby lays on a nest of pillows and blankets. They’ve tried rousing the creature but to no effect, and just the sight of the UB so still makes her heart ache, reminds her of everything that happened that day. 

Reminds her of her brother’s face when he picked up the Sun Flute. 

She’s quiet, whispering into Hau’s chest as he cradles her, “If it’s destroying me, then I can’t imagine what Gladion is going through.” 

* * *

_ It is possible that with a soul, a vampire may fall in love, but I imagine it cannot be anything but tragic. _

** _ Half-Human: An In-Depth Study of Vampires Gaining Souls by Dr. Sam Brockert, University of Transylvania Press _ **

* * *

He doesn’t leave the apartment for a week. 

If he did, he’s not sure what he’ll do, what he’ll become. 

The grief is numbing, but the rage at the world is warm, a strange comfort that tries to goad him into losing control, giving in to the monster he can be because there’s nothing left for him. If this world took her away from him, then it deserves the fury he would unleash. 

But he doesn’t leave the house, instead spending his days sleeping and waiting for the pain to subside. He’s seen what grief unchecked does to a person, watched his own mother succumb to it, and he’s adamant that he won’t become her. 

Once the anger leaves him, though, there’s nothing else to fill it, nothing but an ache as he sees her in everything. She’s like a ghost in the apartment, appearing in his dreams and waking life, sometimes so clearly and vividly that he reaches out to touch her, only for his hand to pass through air. 

At the end of the first week, a knock at the door awakens him from a nightmare he can’t quite remember. 

When he opens the door, it’s her coworker. Kai introduces herself again with a smile, and then it’s turning into a frown, her brows furrowed as she asks why Moon didn’t show up for her shift. 

And he can’t say it – the Council accosted them all, sent some errand boy to swear them to secrecy over her death, but he also physically can’t get the words out. They don’t form in his head, won’t make it out of his throat. 

_ Moon’s gone. _

Gladion says she’s not feeling well, mumbles something about a flu, and Kai nods her head, must see something in his face, a glimpse of the heartbreak he’s hiding because she says with a small smile, “It’s good that she has you to take care of her.” 

He smiles weakly, thanks her for her concern, and shuts the door. 

It’s so hard to not tell her that it was Moon who took care of him, of all of them in the end. 

And he finds that the tears are falling now, that the sorrow has decided to make itself known as he turns and goes back to the couch, passes by an open cupboard and can practically see her hand reaching for her favorite mug. 

* * *

Hau and Lillie visit a few days later, but he isn’t one for talking these days and they both know they don’t have the words he needs to hear. 

The druid brings him a container of blood from the butcher, mumbling something about making sure the vampire is taking care of himself. 

His sister gives him a hug, tries to squeeze the broken pieces back into a version of him, and it works for just a second until she has to let go, and he can see her own cracks, see how she’s trying to hold herself together, too. She tells him to call if he needs anything, that they’re all here for him, but her voice catches. 

They aren’t all here. 

When the two leave, Gladion places the plastic container on the counter and stands, staring at it. He thinks, maybe, he’ll stop feeding, let his body wither right along with his mind. 

_“When all this is over, what do you want?” _

_ “A dog.” _

His eyes close, and he can still conjure her voice but it’s getting less clear with the passing days. 

_“What about you?” _

_ “For all of you to be happy.” _

And he doesn’t know if that’s possible for him anymore, but it’s all he has of her so he’s going to try all the same. 

He drinks the blood, cleans the container, and decides to sweep the floor because the apartment is starting to feel like a haunted house and it gives him something to do besides remember. 

When he’s halfway through, he stops sweeping, bending down to pick up an earring she lost months ago. 

He stays there on the ground, holding it, until he loses track of time and he doesn’t realize he’s been crying until he lifts a hand to his cheek. 

* * *

Three weeks since her sacrifice, and her ghost becomes rarer in the apartment, the freckles on her face becoming blurry in his dreams. 

He should have gotten a photo of her. 

There’s a lot he should have done with her. 

Sometimes he practices saying what he wanted to out loud, just because it’s always so quiet in the apartment, just because it’ll hurt. He stands in front of the bathroom mirror, or sits at the kitchen table, and his lips form the words as he tries to picture how she’d react. 

“I love you.” 

It doesn’t make him cry anymore – it feels like he can’t cry anymore at all, like he’s shed enough tears for an eternity and his body has given up on it. 

He’s wiping down a counter, saying the three words over and over again but silently,min his mind so that it reverberates within him, when he feels his phone buzz. 

**From: Sun [19:53]**   
_can I come over? _

Twenty minutes later the human is at the apartment, stepping inside and stopping in front of the bedroom door. Gladion hasn’t dared to go inside, to even open the door, since he came back, and the two simply stare at it. 

Sun clears his throat, his fingers fidgeting. “I uh, figured I should probably go through her–” 

The vampire assumes he’s trying to sort through Moon’s belongings, but the young man can never get the words out, choking up on another sob he’s tried to repress and shaking his head. 

They don’t end up going into the bedroom at all, instead sitting at the kitchen table with two mugs of tea. He still can’t hold much of a conversation, his mind drifting too much, but Gladion can at least respond and listen as Sun speaks. He doesn’t say much, mostly just what the others are up to, mentions that they still don’t know what to do with Nebby. 

Then he looks up at Gladion and swallows a lump in his throat, blinking back the wetness in his eyes. 

“Do you see her sometimes, too?” 

His eyes widen, and he nods slowly. “Sometimes.” 

Sun nods, takes a long sip of tea. It takes him a while to find his voice again, but when he does, he keeps his eyes on his mug. “There are ways to get her back,” he mumbles, seemingly to himself as he nods, “I think we can get her back.” 

Gladion just hums, because he’s still trying to crawl out of the dark, and he can’t afford that kind of reckless hope sending him back. 

They sit in silence, and when they’re done drinking Sun thanks him for the tea and closes the door quietly behind him. As Gladion cleans up after them, opening the cabinet to put away the tea, he realizes they’re out of coffee. 

It freezes him for a moment, her teasing in the back of his mind, and then he grabs his jacket and his keys and goes to buy more. 

It’s the first time he’s left the apartment in weeks. 

The weather isn’t bad. 

* * *

There are still nights when he wakes up in a cold sweat, days when he can’t find the will to move off the couch, but slowly things get closer to normal – as normal as they can be without her. 

He calls Lillie, just to talk, to see how she’s doing. A few nights, he stops at Hala’s, doesn’t stay for long but Hau always offers a drink on the house. Once he goes to the beach just to sit and stare at the waves and stars, and Kukui and Burnet spot him from the house and come out to join him, offering a blanket and a thermos full of hot cocoa. 

The apartment is clean, and he thinks maybe he should switch some things out, try to get rid of the last of her lingering ghost, but the thought sends him into another spiral of shaking hands and silent sobs, so he drops it. 

He thinks maybe he’ll get a dog and wonders what kind of dog she might have wanted. He gets as far as looking up local shelters, but doesn’t go to look, not yet. 

One day Wicke calls him, asks how he’s holding up, and then she takes a deep breath. 

“Technically, Aether Paradise now falls to you.” 

But he shakes his head (even though she can’t see it). He’s just managing to take care of himself again, how would he even start rebuilding a foundation? 

She understands as they continue to talk, and even though he insists she should make herself president, she only hums, “I’ll take over for now, but if you or your sister ever want to step in, it’s yours to do with as you please.” 

He hangs up, wonders if he should tell her to tear down that forsaken building, sink it all into the ocean because that artificial island was never supposed to exist in the first place. Maybe he’ll go and tear it down himself, rip it out brick by brick and let the rage consume him. 

Instead, he focuses on doing the laundry. He takes walks. Plumeria and Guzma help him find a connection at a hospital for blood bags. 

His chest still aches but it’s getting better, slowly and not linear, but at least better, because that’s all she wanted for them. 

And on the first of the month, when he checks the mail, there’s a bill inside. 

He pays the rent. 

* * *

**From: Sun [1:33]**   
_ meeting at kukui’s right now_

**From: Sun [1:34]**   
_is everyone awake?? wake up _

**From: Sun [1:34]**   
_I’ll start calling if no one responds _

**From: Sun [1:35]**   
_I know how to bring Moon back _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear we're getting out of the angst next chapter but for now who wants to join me in the corner of sadness?


	28. once more, with feeling

[ [♪ Past Lives - BØRNS ♪] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cux2qJjApGA)

_ Sun sits on the ground across from his sister’s bed, his knees pulled up to his chest. _

_ “What does it mean?” _

_ “I don’t know.” Moon shakes her head, her braids following the movement. Her eyes stare at the letter in her hands that showed up on her bed from the Council, but she can’t read any of it, glazing over words like “forces of darkness” and “Chosen” and not quite grasping them as her stomach turns. “I’m going to learn how to fight, I guess.” _

_ Her brother’s eyes widen, his lips curling into a smile as he asks in an awed whisper, “You’re gonna fight vampires?” _

_ “Yeah.”_

_ She’s never fought anything before, not physically. The closest she’s gotten was tugging on Ayame’s ponytail when the girl had laughed at her braces. That was easy enough and it still left her feeling guilty for the rest of the day. _

_ What does it take to fight a vampire? _

_ “You’re a real-life superhero.” Sun stands, going to sit next to her on her bed, looking over her shoulder at the letter. It’s the most official-looking mail either of them has gotten, and though there’s no signature there’s a crest at the bottom, something ancient and foreign. _

_ “Not really,” Moon mumbles, because she certainly doesn’t feel like one, not when she has an algebra test next week. “I’m just...stronger than before. I don’t really have anything else.” _

_ They sit in silence for a moment, in their own thoughts – she’s wondering if she should tell her mom, even if that breaks the rules, and he’s imagining the adventure of it all, of his older sister who’s always stuck up for him now sticking up for the rest of the world. _

_ “If vampires are real, what else do you think is out there?” _

_ She stiffens, because her mind can’t conjure up what the monster under the bed might actually look like if all of this is real, and it sends a shiver down her spine. “I don’t even wanna think about it.” _

_ “Well, I’ll have your back,” her brother mumbles, nodding to himself. Maybe he isn’t Chosen, but he can choose to help, because he’s always helped her and she helps him. It’s what they do. _

_ Her chuckle ends in a snort, trying to picture her baby brother, even shorter and scrawnier than her, his growth spurt still a few years coming, facing off against Dracula. “Thanks, Sunshine.” _

_ But he isn’t having it, frowning as he huffs, “I mean it! I’m always gonna have your back.” _

_ She gives him a look, shakes her head, and sighs as she hugs him, crumpling the letter in her hands. Later, after she sets the gym on fire and it feels like her life is falling apart, she’ll tear it up, but for now it remains in one piece in her hand. Sun hugs her back, knowing this is a promise they’re keeping for the rest of their lives. _

_ “And I’ll have yours.” _

* * *

Sun takes a deep breath, looking around at the familiar faces gathered on the dais of the Altar of the Sunne and Moone, the Moon Flute in his hands. Nebby, still in his hibernation, floats a few inches above the ground in the middle of their circle, frozen in space. 

He knew the Moon Flute is meant to restart the Slayer line, to summon another Chosen by selecting an appropriate soul. However, Nebby is still the key to Ultra Space, the connection point between them and the dimension that Moon’s been sent to, and while her body is gone, what remains of her soul may still be there. The people around him, with souls that have been touched by the Slayer, should be able to act as honing devices, and that’s where the magic gets shaky, gets unknowable, but if they do this right, Moon will be here. 

His sister will be here. 

With one hand he holds the Moon Flute, and the other his mom’s hand. Her eyes focus on the small Ultra Beast in the center of the circle, her face just shy of hopeful. Lillie and Hau hold hands, both giving him supportive smiles, and Kukui and Burnet are biting their cheeks, leaning against each other. Guzma and Plumeria keep their distance slightly, and though she doesn’t have a soul to help, the other Slayer insisted she be here for a sister-in-arms. 

Gladion stands across from him, face blank and hands in his pockets. Their eyes meet, and the vampire nods, and Sun can see just a flicker of something in his eyes before it’s gone, replaced by the apathy that he keeps up because he can’t deal with another heartbreak right now. 

Sun closes his eyes, takes a moment to steady his breathing, and his grip tightens on the flute. 

A wind picks up, and he opens his eyes to see the ghost of a large bat, wings made of the cosmos, forming in the center of their circle. His breath catches, and the creature looks down at him, seeming to smile for a moment before growing opaquer, just for a second, as it crouches down and covers Nebby with its body and wings. 

Then a soft glow begins, blinding them, the cool breeze chilling them. 

Nebby lets out a soft twinkle, a Cosmog once more, as he floats upwards in a spiral, a wide smile as his eyes land on Lillie and dive towards the witch, who hugs him with a giggle and the beginnings of tears in her eyes. 

But then their eyes are on the ground, where a figure lays, gray eyes slowly opening as she sits up, limbs shaking. 

His mother lets go of his hand, steps forward, calling out softly, unsure, “Moonbeam?” 

“Hey mom.” Her voice is raw but it’s hers, and a cough wracks her body before she gives her mom a weak smile. “Sorry I missed family dinner.” 

“Leave the stupid jokes to me,” Sun breathes, because he’s finally able to breathe, and when his sister looks up at him he nearly drops the flute and smiles wide. 

He throws his arms around her, and his mom hugs them both, Moon laughing lightly as she hugs them both back. The others snap from their daze, Lillie, Hau, Kukui, and Burnet quick to run up and join in the hug, becoming a mass of crying and laughter and smiles as Nebby floats around them, confused but delighted all the same. Guzma and Plumeria hang back, holding hands as they smile at the sight and whisper to each other. 

Gladion stands there, lips parted and eyes wide and head dizzy. 

They ask a few questions, then quickly realize they’re overwhelming the poor Slayer and break the hug, giving her space as they realize the resurrection process wiped most of her memory of what happened once she was sent into Ultra Space. All she remembers is the coldness and the dark and nothing else, and it’s probably for the best. 

As the crowd parts, Sun helps her stand, his eyes going to Gladion before he leans in and whispers in her ear with a smile. 

Her eyes lock onto Gladion’s, and she’s walking forward, his own feet moving of their own accord to meet her in the middle as she lifts up her hands to cradle his face – her skin is warmer, softer than he remembered. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she whispers, thumbs tracing his cheekbones. 

He can’t help himself, doesn’t know what to do with himself in this moment so he settles on bringing his hands up to hers, then her face, slowly, half-expecting for his hand to pass through air but it doesn’t, it traces her jaw and her cheeks and the tears come slow. “You’re real. You’re really here, and really you?” 

She nods, biting her lip but her own eyes are wet as she shakes her head slowly. “I’m sorry.” 

“You’re sorry?” he scoffs, looking at her, he can’t stop looking at her and everything in him is going to burst. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.” 

“I’m sorry I left you.” 

“And I’m sorry I–” 

“Shut up and kiss each other already!” Sun shouts through his own tears, and the others are laughing, or crying, or both. 

When Gladion and Moon’s lips clumsily meet in a smile, the others cheer, and it feels like the universe finally lets out the breath it didn’t know it was holding. 

The world is loud, and bright, and ready now. 

* * *

_ Necromancy is rather unladylike, and do avoid it at all costs. However, exceptions may be made, in which case do use your best judgment, and _ _ wear the appropriate black__! _

** _ The Little Witch’s Guide to Etiquette, 3_** ** _rd_ ** **_ Edition _ **

* * *

She spends her first night back with Gladion, but her family claims the next day, ending it with a dinner they prepared, though Moon complained the entire time that her mom and Sun weren’t letting her actually help. They waved her off, kept her seated as she sipped wine and watched and they told old stories from childhood. 

When they sit down to eat, though, her mom seems a little more interested in the future, looking up from her plate with an impish spark in her eyes. 

“So...Gladion?” 

Moon freezes, Sun snickering at her expense. She looks over to her mom, putting down her silverware in favor of picking up her wine glass as she explains with a blush beginning to build, “We’re, uh, dating. Recent development.” 

Sun waits until she’s halfway through a sip before he smiles wide and says far too casually, “He’s a vampire.” 

“What?” 

Sure enough, his sister chokes, and she debates if she should make a joke about Sun wanting to kill her twice, but she decides against it. When she turns to look at her mom, there’s a little worry in her face, but mostly confusion. 

Still, it has her flustered and wanting the attention off her, so her eyes turn to her brother and she points at him accusingly. 

“Sun’s flirting with an incubus!” 

_ “Hey!” _

They start to bicker, debating whose significant other is more monstrous – Sun makes a good point when he says that Gladion drinks blood, but Moon counters with Ilima’s horns and wings – and their mother sits and watches them, letting out a sigh that turns into a chuckle. She knows it’ll take more time for her to fully wrap her head around the real lives her children have been living, but she’s glad to hear it all the same, wants to be a part of it as much as she can. 

She’s about to pull the mom card to stop the argument when her daughter starts glowing. 

Literally. 

Moon’s body is enveloped in a warm, golden light, her eyes going white as she freezes in place for a moment. Her mom stands, unsure what to do and turning to look at Sun, who’s equally worried until he realizes the whole scene is familiar. 

A moment later and the glow is gone, her eyes normal as she rolls her shoulders and takes a deep breath. “Well that was a lot more pleasant than the first time.” 

“The Call 2: Electric Boogaloo?” Sun mumbles, and she nods. 

It was strange, coming back into her body but without her Slayer powers. She felt weaker than usual, though the resurrection process was also partially to blame for that. Her mind was mostly too occupied to really consider the fact that she was no longer a Slayer, but she realizes now she can’t picture herself any other way. 

Honestly, she probably would have gone back to protecting Alola even without her powers, though she can’t deny the strength and healing make it a lot easier. 

There’s also the fact that the Council didn’t technically have jurisdiction over her, but now she’s sure they’re going to send her a laundry list of complaints, and she can’t wait to see just how much of the Slayer code she’s managed to break. 

“You’re a Slayer again, then?” 

Her mother’s voice and face are tense for a moment as she sits back down. Moon nods, biting her cheek as she waits for her reaction, preparing to be dissuaded, for her mom to grow worried and scared. 

But the tension melts into a small smile and a nod. “Good. I don’t want just anyone protecting the world.” 

Moon’s lips part for a moment, and then she’s smiling down at her plate. Sun grins wide, chuckling, “We should get you a bumper sticker. ‘My daughter made Slayer Roll.’” 

“’Honk if you’re a Slayer?’” his sister offers in between bites. 

Their mom shakes her head, looking between the two of them as she picks up her glass. “How about ‘proud mother of two incredible children who are making the world a better place?’” 

Sun considers it for a moment, then shakes his head with a sigh. “Catchy, but it’ll never fit.” 

And they laugh into their new normal, their mom listening and asking questions as they start to tell her about their journey to saving the world. 

* * *

Moon lays on the couch, her back on Gladion’s chest and his laptop on her legs. Ever since she came back, she catches him staring at her, and if he would have hesitated before in touching her now he has no qualms, pulling her into hugs and holding her hand every chance he gets. She figures it’ll pass with time, once they both realize this is their reality, that she’s here to stay, but for now she reaches out for him, too, wants him close and grounding her. 

He pulls up an animal shelter website and clicks on a dog; she hums, reading the profile and nodding. “He’s a pretty dog. Good choice.” 

“Are you sure you’re fine with it?” he asks, his arms wrapped around her waist and head on top of hers. 

“Lucky for you, this is a pet-friendly apartment and I’ve decided I want a dog, too.” She closes the laptop, sets it softly on the ground before turning her head to tell him with grave seriousness, “But when he poops on the floor, he’s _your_ dog.” 

He chuckles, buries his face in her neck and has her giggling when his breath tickles her. “Fair enough.” 

She settles back against his chest, her hands settling over his as they lay in a comfortable silence for a moment. It almost feels wrong to break it, but then a thought strikes Moon and she can’t help but mumbles, “Also, not to freak you out, but my mom definitely wants to meet you.” 

His body stiffens behind her. “Did you mention–” 

“That you’re a vampire? She’s aware.” She turns to give him a smirk, adding after a moment of thought, “She’ll probably have some questions, but she’s taking it all in stride.” 

It’s been nice, actually, having her mother so curious. She never asked questions before, never wanted to really talk about it, but with everything out in the open now, Moon can honestly say that she isn’t keeping secrets from anyone she considers family, and the thought alone is liberating. 

Her fingers play with his, interweaving them as she grows smaller for a moment. Now may not be the best time to bring up what she’s been thinking about with him, but then she can’t think of a better moment and knows she only has so much time on this earth, she can’t afford to waste it. 

“Speaking around the topic of commitment and seriousness...how do you feel about us?” 

His hands squeeze hers, his voice warm honey in her ear as he tells her earnestly, “That I want to be with you.” 

“Forever?” 

He doesn’t miss the intonation of the word, the undercurrent of her real question; however, she also doesn’t sound enthused about it, and he lets out a breath to know that they’re at least on the same page about it. 

“I don’t want to turn you.” His right hand lets go of hers, instead going to her chest, feeling the light beat against her ribcage. “You only just got back your heartbeat, let me enjoy it for a little longer.” 

“You just want me for my sweet blood,” she groans dramatically, smiling when she hears him laugh in her ear. 

His face travels down to her neck, lips ghosting the skin and sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. “You like it when I bite.” 

“Distract me later, I’m not finished,” she tuts, winding a hand in his hair to gently tug him away from her neck. She turns, her arms on his chest, and he can see the concern furrowing her brows now, how she bites her lip and can’t quite look him in the eyes as her voice grows quiet. “I just want to be sure. Because I’m still a Slayer, a-and you’re gonna lose me again, eventually. Are you sure you’re okay with going through that again?” 

He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, considering it. The grief is still somewhere in him, still close enough for him to remember clearly. In the month that she was gone, he wasn’t sure he could go on. 

But he did, and he still had her, in a way. The curse of eternity has made him acutely aware that he’ll lose nearly everyone in his life eventually, but it doesn’t make the love that he feels for them any less powerful. 

It shouldn’t hold him back anymore. 

“I’d rather that than lose you because I was too much of a coward to get hurt.” 

She looks at him, smile slowly growing as she leans in. “When did you get so eloquent?” 

It’s a soft kiss, not very long, and the second she pulls away he wants another, decides he wants to kiss her every day, and she looks at him so sweetly that the words are leaving his mouth before he fully realizes. 

“I love you.” 

And she’s smiling impossibly wider, pressing kisses against his cheek as she sighs, “I love you, too.” He laughs, breathless, and she pauses, her eyes growing darker, predatory in a way that has him swallowing hard as she breathes against his skin, “Now distract me.” 

So he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short, much fluffier chapter to ease us into the resolution, although we have a surprise coming up next chapter...


	29. black and white and read all over

[[♪ Heroes - David Bowie ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyk7tOiGgZU)

It’s Sunday morning, so whoever is banging on Kukui’s door better have a final will and testament prepared. 

When he opens the door, still rubbing sleep from his eyes and hair a mess, a newspaper is shoved into his face, a shrill voice barking, “What is the meaning of this?” 

He blinks, eyes going from a copy of the Island Prophet to the man holding it, the same man from the Council who came to initially complain to Moon about their efforts to end the apocalypse. Whatever patience Kukui was willing to have evaporates. 

“It’s a newspaper, cousin, pretty helpful in keeping the public informed.” 

It works well to further infuriate the Council member, his grip tightening on the newspaper until his knuckles are white, his face nearly a cherry as he spits, “It’s your sworn duty as a Watcher to keep the existence of magic and supernatural beings a secret, so how on earth is the entire Island Prophet now dedicated to just that?” 

Kukui leans forward, finally awake enough to actually read the front page. There’s a photo of Aether Paradise along with Plumeria and Moon, and the headline reads “Slayers, Wormholes, and Other Secrets of Alola Revealed.” 

He hums, skimming the first few lines to find that they had an anonymous source reach out to them with detailed evidence of a supernatural community in Alola, along with an account of everything that happened the night the world was destined to end. 

“Huh. Would you look at that.” 

The newspaper is lowered, just enough so he can see the other man’s face as he huffs, “I’m taking you to the Council, effective immediately, and–” 

“No need. Hang on.” He holds up his index finger, then steps away from the door, walking quickly to the kitchen table to pick up an envelope. When he walks back, he holds it out to the Council member with a smirk. “Just give them this.” 

“What is this?” But he takes it, wary and narrowing his eyes. 

“My resignation.” Kukui grins as the other man’s jaw drops. “I quit.” 

“You can’t.” 

He shrugs. “Okay, then fire me. After all, the supernatural community here was just exposed, the identity of a Slayer is known, and I did nothing to stop it.” 

“You’re unworthy of the title of Watcher!” the Council member splutters, face somehow growing redder as the Island Prophet shakes in his hand. 

Kukui has a hand on the doorknob, unimpressed and ready to go back to his morning. “Fantastic, so we’re done here then?” 

“What’s with all the yelling?” He turns to see his wife yawning, walking towards the door with her robe wrapped tightly around her. Burnet blinks up at the two men, then spots the newspaper still being held up, and grins sleepily as she takes it. “Oh, the paper, thanks.” 

And with the Council member now openly gaping and on the verge of an aneurysm, Kukui gives him a far too pleasant smile before shutting the door in his face. 

* * *

As cavalier as he might have been with the Council member, Kukui does realize what sort of impact this news story is going to have on Alola. He and Burnet read through the entire paper that morning, sharing looks as they wonder just what this will mean going forward and who the anonymous source could be. 

Considering that the source knew Moon used the Sun Flute and could account for Wicke’s presence, he figures it had to be someone who directly fought Lusamine, which narrows it down significantly. It’s a bit tricky to reach out to all of them – mostly because he has to go all the way to Po Town to contact Plumeria and Guzma – but then they’re all gathered in his living room. The air is slightly tense, a copy of the newspaper that everyone’s already read on the coffee table. 

By now, word has spread across Alola, to mixed reactions. More and more supernatural beings are feeling comfortable revealing themselves, but it’s harder to get a read on how the human populace is fairing beyond mass confusion. There’s certainly been a bit of fear-mongering, but there’s also been a fair amount of support, especially with so many in the occult community helping to save the world. 

Sun’s the last to get in, fresh off his shift at the courier station and quick to blurt out as the front door swings shut behind him, “For once, I’m not responsible for the mess.” 

The others look around at each other, and Plumeria sighs from her spot leaning against the wall. 

“No, I am.” 

It’s quiet, even Nebby seeming to understand the gravity of the statement as Lillie holds him in her lap. 

Gladion is the one to break the silence with a sigh, sitting forward in his seat on the couch, elbows against his knees as he runs a hand through his hair. “It complicates things.” 

Guzma rolls his eyes. “Yeah, so did the end of the world.” 

“But how do you think a bunch of humans are going to react knowing they’re surrounded by monsters?” Gladion argues, and it’s a fair enough point. Sure, the sneaking around and isolation was tricky, but it was also a comfort. He’s just accepting his own vampirism, and he’s dreading the fact that now four islands worth of people are going to have to accept it, too. 

Moon frowns softly in thought, her hand going to his back. Guzma hunches a little lower, faltering in his argument as he leans back against the wall next to Plumeria. 

“Well, as one of three humans in the room, I might have an idea.” 

They turn to look at Sun, who’s plopped himself down in an armchair, sighing as he looks around the room. “Look, it’s gonna be a tough sell, and maybe not a smooth transition, but at the end of the day...humans adapt. Some of us might even consider those monsters our best friends, so like, cut us some slack.” 

His eyes lock with Gladion, giving the vampire a smile that he can’t help but return, just a little. 

Burnet nods, adding as she throws a grin to Moon and Plumeria, “And they’ll have two Slayers to guide them through it.” 

Moon considers it, puts it into perspective with everything that’s happened, but it’s hard when there’s no template for the world they’re trying to create. There’s a hopeful lilt to her voice, one she tries to temper, reminding herself that there’s so much out of her control. “It won’t be easy.” 

“But it could be worth it. No more hiding, no more secrets.” Hau’s leg is bouncing, his words dancing between nervousness and optimism. “A step closer to real acceptance.” 

There’s a buzz in the air now, and it feels less thick in their lungs. They can’t guarantee what the new Alola might look like, but together they could start to build something that has the potential for a peace that lasts. There are so many details to consider, problems they can’t begin to imagine, but there’s also a freedom to it, a strange courage that rushes through their veins. 

Plumeria nods, catching Moon’s eye as she gives the other Slayer a lopsided smile, reveals her real reason for breaking the story, for starting a revolution. 

“And I think it’s about time the real heroes get remembered.” 

* * *

_ We work in the shadows. Ours are lives of sacrifice and secrecy, sworn to protect others. _

** _ The Pledge of the Slayer, written by The Council of Watchers _ **

* * *

When Moon received a letter from the Alola government, she figured it must have been a jury summons. 

Instead, it was a request for her to come to the Hano Grand Resort on a Friday evening, well-dressed, and that somehow seemed worse than a possible jury summons. Gladion agrees to go with her, and she tries to keep it out of her mind, reminds herself that if she could save the world, she can definitely handle some politics. 

Still, when they actually reach the Hano Grand Resort, walking through the lobby to the ballroom listed in the letter, she feels her hands going clammy. 

The Council’s already sent her their list of grievances, but that’s the worst they can do. She’s not exactly sure about the legality of everything she’s done, but a small nation’s government feels like it holds a little more sway in this moment. 

Gladion stands next to her, watching as she stares at the ballroom door (and she might realize his smile is a little too knowing if the anxiety didn’t cloud her judgment). “You know we can’t actually find out what they want if we don’t go in.” 

Moon chuckles, knowing she’s being ridiculous, but then she’s still hesitating as she looks up at the vampire. “Just...they can’t arrest me, can they?” 

“If they could, I don’t think they would have told you to dress up and come to the most expensive hotel in Alola.” 

It’s a fair enough point, one that has her mirroring his lopsided smile as she mumbles, “Definitely a waste of taxpayer dollars if that’s the case." 

She takes another deep breath and he takes her hand, and when she opens her eyes once more, she pushes open the door. 

It’s not a jury summons. 

It’s not a surprise arrest. 

It’s...a party, she thinks. 

There’s a burst of cheers when she steps into the room, her brows furrowing and lips parting as she looks around. Light music plays, filling the ballroom along with streamers and banners and banquet tables of food. In the mass of people gathered in the room, she can see several familiar faces, a mix of human and supernatural, looking at her with wide smiles. 

Her breath catches in her throat when her eyes lock with Hala, who stands next to the mayor of Iki Town, an older woman she’s seen in passing a few times. “Wh-what is this?” 

Hala hums, lifting a champagne flute. “It’s a thank you, keiki.” 

“After everything you’ve done for Alola, this is the least we can do,” the mayor explains, looking to the druid next to her, “And Hala was especially helpful with the guest list.” 

Moon doesn’t realize she isn’t breathing, or that she’s let go of Gladion’s hand, her body feeling numb but sort of tingly; not until Kai is running up to her and hugging her. She pulls back, grinning widely, and when the Slayer’s eyes flicker to behind her, she finds two of their other coworkers – one of whom, as it turns out, is a harpy – smiling at them. 

“No wonder you were always so tired at work! You should’ve told me sooner and I could have at least covered some of your shifts.” Kai shakes her head, the others around them chuckling. 

And Moon’s laughing, too, laughing and feeling so light and something bubbling up within her. It becomes a sniffle, then pours over into tears that trace down her cheeks as her laugh transitions into hiccups and she wipes at her eyes. She’s vaguely embarrassed, aware that all eyes are on her, but she can’t stop herself. 

Gladion’s by her side in an instant, an arm around her shoulders as he asks softly, confused, “Are you all right?” 

She’s fought vampires, sirens, aliens, and more. She’s burned down a high school gym, torn up a music festival, and shut down an interdimensional portal. She’s trained, fought, and even sacrificed herself for the greater good. 

“I just...” Moon tries to steady her breathing, unable to stop the tears completely as she lets out a weak laugh and a brilliant smile. 

“No one’s ever said thank you before.” 

Her body is still deliriously light, but Gladion helps wipe away her tears as she steadies herself once more and accepts the champagne that Sun brings her with a laugh. The music is turned up and there’s another toast to her, and she spends the night wandering around the ballroom with Gladion, stopping to talk to nearly everyone there. 

There are questions of what comes next, of how to bridge the gap between the mundane and occult, of when the rest of the world might catch on. They’re the types of questions no one has the answer to, won’t be answered tonight and maybe not for several years. 

However, there are also stories of the work being done to foster peace, of gratitude from lives she’s spared, of those who didn’t even realize she was the one stepping in when things got weird. 

Not a minute goes by that she doesn’t have a smile on her face, and when she jokingly complains that her cheeks are hurting, Gladion kisses them both and whispers his own “thank you” against her skin, and it’s enough to get her crying again. Lillie, Hau, and Sun gasp, teasing the vampire for making his girlfriend cry as he panics, flustered and not quite sure what’s happening until Moon shakes her head, kisses the corner of his mouth, and whispers, “I’m just stupidly happy.” 

Because she would protect Alola for the rest of her life, no questions asked. 

But finally feeling seen, being truly appreciated, is still a nice feeling. 

* * *

After the weather update, Channel 4’s star anchor gives the camera a smile, her brunette hair in a tidy updo as she begins the morning report. 

“This week marks the start of a new era in Alola, as residents woke up on Monday to the realization that the things that go bump in the night are real, and their neighbors. The Island Prophet was the first to break the story, including an investigation into the truth behind the Aether Foundation and its previous president, Lusamine, which we’ll be going into further detail on in just a few moments. 

“Lawmakers are already looking to put in place regulations of magical activity, working closely with their now openly occult constituents in order to ensure that as they move forward, it’s not a step back for the community. While some are more inclined to keep this off the books and secret, viewing the reveal as a threat to tourism, others don’t see the worry. The mayor of Hau’oli City is quoted as saying, ‘Feel free to try and tell the rest of the world that Alola is full of bogeymen, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t laugh in your face.’ 

“For citizens who may be worried about the possible dangers some supernatural beings may pose to the human populace, you can rest easy knowing that Alola has two Slayers, women who have been trained to protect the world from evil forces. Moon Hoshizaki was unavailable for comment, as she’s resting, but Plumeria provided us with this: ‘As long as we’re around, we’re looking to maintain peace. Monsters have been living in Alola for centuries, and it’s about time we acknowledge the truth, because those monsters are a lot more human than you realize.’” 

She pauses, taking a deep breath as her hands reach up behind her head. After a few moments, her hair moves, not simply falling down but curling up, the anchor giving a sheepish smile as several snakes reveal themselves, brown scales shimmering. 

“This monster is inclined to agree. I’m Amy Katsaros for Channel 4, and we’ll be back with more updates just after this commercial break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> decided against including the scene where Plumeria actually goes to the Island Prophet because it was just six hours of:
> 
> "what about ghosts? are ghosts real?"
> 
> "buddy, I told you, they're ALL real"
> 
> "...what about leprechauns?"


	30. two halves of a whole idiot

[[♪ Wasteland, Baby! - Hozier ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rKN_qW5DU)

Moon’s bed, Gladion decides, is far superior to the couch. 

Especially, he finds, when he can fall asleep with his head on her chest, ear pressed right up against her heart and an arm wrapped loosely around her waist. 

She wakes up slowly, blinking into the dimmed morning light, confused for a moment until she remembers that the curtains are all drawn. Side-effect of dating a vampire, but one she’ll happily put up with when she looks down to see his peaceful face. His skin is cool against hers, pale and smooth without his usual furrowed brow or wrinkles of worry. 

With a sleepy smile, she carefully brushes his bangs out of his face, watching as he shifts in his sleep, mumbling something against her chest. She laughs quietly, torn between going back to sleep but knowing that they need to get up. 

“Wake up.” 

Her voice is gentle, barely rousing him as the vampire only holds her tighter, the bite in his voice undercut by the yawn that wants to escape him. “No.” 

“Lazy bum,” she whispers with a giggly warmth, her fingers still playing with his hair. 

He finally opens his eyes in something of a glare, maybe closer to just a scowl as he lifts his chin. “We saved the world; we get to sleep in.” 

“You don’t even _need _to sleep.” He mutters something under his breath and she chuckles, stretching as she feels her body truly beginning to wake. She glances around, realizing her phone is on the nightstand, which is just a hair out of reach with a grumpy vampire on top of her and refusing to let her go. “What time is it?” 

“No idea,” he sighs, and his eyes are closing once more as he rests his head back on her, apparently intent on going back to sleep. 

She tries to sit up, playfully swatting at his shoulder. “You should, because we need to...” Her voice trails off as her eyes go to the open door, spotting something that makes her grin grow wide. “There he is.” 

Before either of them can react, the dog waiting in the door runs, launching himself at their bed and landing directly on Gladion, licking every part of his face he can reach while Moon laughs. 

“Silvally, get off,” he groans at the mutt, though it quickly turns into a laugh as the dog gives him another lick before he rolls off of Moon. 

Which leaves her open for the attack, sitting up and laughing as Silvally barks excitedly, crouching as if to play only to jump forward to lick her face. She turns her head, trying to avoid it as her laugh only grows louder, her hands ruffling the fur around the dog’s neck. 

And Gladion lays on his side, watching with a smile and feeling something in his chest threatening to burst at the sight. 

“Okay okay, I’ll feed you.” Silvally sits back, panting as the Slayer continues to scratch behind his ears, sending a dramatic scowl in Gladion’s direction. “Since your dad is lazy.” 

He rolls his eyes. “Beg to differ on that one, considering I’m trying to figure out how to run an entire foundation from home.” 

The commute is far from the worst problem he’s having to solve after Moon and Lillie convinced him to take on Aether Foundation, but at least this problem won’t take several years to solve and comes with the added bonus of getting to stay home with his girlfriend and their dog. 

Moon clicks her tongue, leaning in conspiratorially towards Silvally, not quite able to hide the smile as she mumbles, “See, he won’t even go into the office. Says his skin will burn in the sun but that just sounds like an excuse to me.” 

“Don’t turn him against me.” Silvally tilts his head in confusion for a moment, before his tail goes back to wagging, thumping against the mattress and he gives Moon’s cheek another lick as she giggles, Gladion narrowing his eyes though he chuckles. “Traitor.” 

She leans forward, her lips grazing his forehead as she asks, “Want me to make coffee?” 

“Please.” 

He watches her stand up, calling for Silvally as the two go into the kitchen for breakfast. Rolling onto his back, he takes a moment to consider the turn his life has taken. 

Aether Paradise is under his control, and he’ll be working to undo the damage that his mother did, reinstate the vision his father and her once had for the organization. There’s a strange group of people in the world who tolerate him, like him even, that he can call his friends. He’s still a vampire, which isn’t ideal, but he’s finding ways to use that for good, along with the moments in which he feels undeniably <strike>human</strike> like himself. 

And he has a dog and the greatest person he’s ever met is making him coffee, so he finally gets out of bed and walks into the kitchen with a smile. 

* * *

Lillie and Hau laugh as Nebby floats closer to the retreating tide, only for the creature to squeal and float back quickly when the waves crash and the tide comes in once more. They watch, and continue walking on the sand, shoes long-forgotten on Kukui and Burnet’s front porch as their steps land on the edges of the sea. 

The witch pauses, looking out at the horizon where the sun has just begun to set, the sky becoming a haze of pinks and oranges and blues that has her smiling. Hau watches her, his hands in his pocket, fingers fidgeting with a small box. 

“I really should move out,” she finally says with a half-hearted chuckle to break their comfortable silence. She turns back to him, her eyes flickering to the house on the beach for a moment. 

Hau shrugs. “Kukui and Burnet love having you around.” 

“And I appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” she’s quick to explain, letting out a breath as she gathers her thoughts, “It’s more so that if I really want to make a life for myself, I’d rather it not be in a basement.” 

Nebby chimes when he finds a pink shell, drawing their eyes further up the shore for a moment. As Lillie giggles, Hau steps closer to her, slowly interlocking their fingers as she looks up at him with a pleasant smile, about to ask a question when he counters with his own. 

“How would you feel about my apartment?” 

She freezes for a moment, and he swallows the lump in his throat because that wasn’t even the question he meant to ask but her reply still has him nervous, has him praying the hand holding hers isn’t getting sweaty, his other hand gripping the velvet box in his pocket tighter. 

Then she’s smiling wider, giving his hand a squeeze as she teases, “An unmarried woman sharing a bed with an unmarried man? Scandalous.” 

“Then marry me.” 

A flock of seagulls cry in the distance, but she can’t hear anything at all when he’s holding her gaze with adoration and anticipation. 

Her voice is quiet, but hopeful. “Really?” 

“Really really.” He smiles, bringing out the ring box and opening it slowly to reveal a simple band of blue and silver that has her gasping. With a chuckle, he adds, “I mean, we kind of ended up adopting an alien baby together, and you’ve become the best part of my life, so why don’t we become an actual family?” 

She nods, not quite trusting her voice as she holds out her hand, and he slides on the ring, his own fingers shaking. When their eyes meet, they both can’t help but laugh, and Lillie feels tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she throws her hands around his neck. 

“You just got one thing wrong.” 

He raises a brow, but she silences his question with a kiss, smiling against his lips as she whispers, “We already are a family.” 

* * *

_ Perhaps I am humanizing th_ _ese _ _alien life _ _forms_ _, but it is only because they show signs of desiring a very human thing: connection. _

** _ Physiology of Currently Documented Ultra Beasts by Professor Mohn, The _ ** ** _ Alola _ ** ** _ Aerospace Journal, Issue 44 _ **

* * *

Sun isn’t expecting anyone, so he’s more than a little surprised to find Kukui on his doorstep on his day off. 

The older man holds out an envelope, a smirk on his face. “Delivery.” 

“Now there’s a twist.” He takes the envelope, brows furrowing when he sees a familiar crest on the front, irritation flickering in his eyes. “What’s this about?” 

“My last act as Watcher is to give you your official initiation letter into the Council as their newest Watcher.” Sun looks up at him, wide-eyed, as Kukui continues with a nod, “Apparently, your knowledge of the grimoire and excellence in protecting a Slayer have gotten you noticed.” 

For over a decade, he’s wanted to be Chosen. All he’s ever really wanted is to be recognized, for someone to look at him and decide he’s just as much of a hero as his sister. 

His grip tightens on the envelope. 

“Dope.” 

And he tears it in half a dozen times, watching as the scraps of paper fall to his feet because he knows he’s a hero already, and he doesn’t need the people who made his sister’s life a living hell to be the ones to tell him it. 

Kukui chuckles, more than a little proud as he sighs, “Yeah, I tried to tell them that’d be your response.” 

“Shame they had to waste the paper.” 

“I have something else for you, too.” The ex-Watcher smiles at him, shifts his weight back and forth with something between excitement and nerves. “Sort of a job offer.” 

Sun raises a brow, leaning against the doorway with crossed arms as he purrs, “Go on.” 

“Burnet got me thinking – what if we created a system outside of the Council so that humans can still help with the supernatural, but without being restricted to the sidelines or speaking over others?” His smile is growing wide, hands gesticulating before he grows self-conscious, retracting them and scratching the back of his head as he explains, “It’s still abstract, but I want Watchers who actually put their knowledge to use, who go into action alongside Slayers and others. Who don’t decide everything on behalf of everyone else in the room.” 

The younger man hums, an impish spark invading his eyes. “Got a name for it, yet?” 

“I’ll take suggestions, but with your track record I don’t know.” 

They share a laugh, but then Sun is thinking, chewing on his cheek. The need to make a joke out of this is strong, but it’s not as strong as his realization that he’s about to become everything he’s wanted to be since he was twelve. He’s never had a calling, not literally like Moon, and he’s spent his life making himself the butt of the joke, the dumb one, because he was scared to try for much else. 

Now, though, he looks up with a smile, knowing there’s a lot more to himself that he’s ready to uncover. 

“What about just ‘Professors?’” 

Kukui blinks, clearly not expecting that answer and considering it for a moment before he mumbles, happily surprised, “That’s not bad.” 

“Ooh, ooh, or ‘Asskicking Machines?’” 

“And there it is.” 

With another laugh Kukui heads inside, Sun shutting the door behind them as he goes to grab his notebook and pencil, more than ready to work out the details. 

* * *

“Cheers!” 

Seven pint glasses meet in the center of the air, clinking against each other as the Slayerettes/Slayer Incorporated/Scoobies sit in a corner booth at Hala’s. Kukui and Burnet were gracious enough to cover this first round, since they argued they were the ones who gathered everyone for a night out. 

Hau finishes his sip, looking around with a slightly confused smile. “What are we celebrating this time?” 

“What isn’t there to celebrate?” Sun laughs, counting off on his fingers as he lists, “We got an engagement, a new dog, major career changes – speaking of careers, are you going back to the pharmacy?” 

They turn to look at Moon, her fingers tapping along the sides of her glass as she shrugs. “I could. Kai and the others said my position’s still open, considering the extenuating circumstances of my absence.” 

Lillie frowns, not noticing that Nebby’s once again worked open the zipper of his travel bag by her feet, poking his head out. “But you can’t be a full-time Slayer and a full-time pharmacist unless you never sleep again.” 

“Considering only one of those comes with an actual salary, I may have to be.” She takes another sip, adding, “Besides, Plumeria’s on top of it, too.” 

Kukui gives her a lopsided smile, eyes glancing around the table as he suggests, “What if you had a whole team behind you?” 

“What if you had a whole foundation behind you?” 

All eyes turn to Gladion, who sips a beer far too casually for the weight of what he’s just said. Moon looks up at him with wide eyes, just starting to grasp his meaning as he gives them all a smirk. “Turns out once you take nefarious plans out of the budget, there’s a lot of extra funding.” 

It was one of the first things Wicke pointed out to him when they went over the budget, and they’d actually been trying to figure out what other project could possibly use the money. While it’s still not quite as simple as he makes it sound, considering the recent reveal and his position at Aether, it should be possible with a little finessing. He thinks out loud, “Conserving life and peace between the mundane and supernatural could technically fall under Aether’s umbrella, and it’s definitely needed right now in the transition period.” 

“Ugh, seriously? It’s_ that _easy for you guys to get funding?” Burnet groans, the others laughing at her expense as she downs half of her glass with a petulant frown, Kukui trying not to grin too wide as he rubs her back comfortingly. 

Sun smirks into his glass. “Corruption runs deep in capitalist Alola.” 

“Yeah but I’ll take it.” Moon looks up at Gladion with a grateful smile, her eyes ablaze with the possibilities. “If I’m rebooting my Slayer career properly, then I want the structures in place to show that we mean business. That we’re here to stay.” 

And it certainly feels that way when Hau raises his glass again, cheering, “To a fresh start!” 

They laugh, Nebby flying out of his bag and joining their toast, a cosmic twinkle adding to their voices in the back of the dive bar. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is when I reveal that this entire fic was just build-up to get to Silvally, who is the best boy
> 
> (also I'm in denial that tomorrow this fic officially ends, I've grown attached don't look at me)


	31. super natural

[[♪ I Do It So Well - The Struts ♪]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q2dqDhRQ84)

Sun should probably be a little more concerned that there’s an incubus in his apartment, but considering that incubus is Ilima, he’s more concerned with how the dinner he’s making for their date night is going. 

As he stirs the sauce, soft music playing, he looks over his shoulder and hums, “You’re spending a lot more time in our dimension than before.” He’d asked before where the incubus actually spends his time in between most dreams, and it’s apparently a different plane of existence, just outside of this one, though it’s a touch too eldritch for him to explain properly. 

Ilima pauses in pouring them both a glass of wine at the table, looking up with a smirk. “Well you seem to like it so much, I figured I should see what all the fuss is about.” 

“And no one’s being a dick?” 

Sun’s turning off the stove when the pause hits, and he turns back to see that Ilima’s biting his lip, swirling the glass of wine in his hands as he sighs. His wings seem to fidget, and Sun’s just learning that it’s a nervous habit, which makes him frown. 

“I uh, don’t exactly walk around like this. Tried it once, got a lot of mixed responses and decided it’s not for me. Not yet.” 

His stomach sinks as Ilima takes a sip from his glass. 

He worries, sometimes, that he gave humans too much credit before, that maybe he, Burnet, and Kukui are the exceptions rather than the rule. As he plates their dinner, he can’t help but frown to himself, thinking on news reports and gossip through grapevines that can easily swing to extremes. “There’s still a lot to figure out.” 

“There's still time to do it.” Ilima’s face softens as he sets his glass back down, watches the human ladle sauce as he thinks out loud, “You can’t rush a cultural shift, especially when so many of us have been the source of a lot of humans’ fears. There’s a lot of dialogue that needs to happen.” 

“Some of it might end up taking the form of fighting.” 

Sun turns, two plates of dinner in hand as he walks to the table and sets them down. As he takes his seat, his brow still furrowed in worry, Ilima leans forward, mindful of his claws as he rests a hand over one of Sun’s. 

“Those fights will matter, and hopefully they won’t grow, but it’s what you do after the fight that matters more. So far, what you’re doing after the last fight is working towards peace and understanding between two groups who, historically, haven’t had that.” 

He gives Sun’s hand a gentle squeeze, and they smile at each other before retracting their hands, Sun quick to huff, “All right, start shoving this in your mouth before you raise my IQ too much.” 

Ilima laughs, picking up his fork with a smirk. “Thanks,_ Professor.” _

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about that,” Sun groans, feeling a heat crawl up his neck and threaten to invade his cheeks. 

The incubus shakes his head, eyes lighting up in amusement and fascination. “Besides being a fantastic nickname, it sounds exciting. You’ll be at the forefront of helping inform the humans about us.” 

“It’s a lot.” Sun takes a breath and a sip of wine, trying to sort out the mess of thoughts he’s had over this in the past week alone. “I mean, we want to put this whole system in place, have all these big ideas about how to organize and recruit people, but it’s hard to think big picture when we’re still dealing with things like whether or not potions should be regulated like medicine.” 

A silence settles over them, thick but viscous as Sun sighs through it and Ilima hums. He shakes his head, shakes the worry out of Sun with the simple motion as he says, “You’re planting the seeds right now, but if you care for them well then they’ll grow into the forest you’re dreaming of.” 

And Sun smiles at the thought, lets it reignite his optimism before he goes back to his dinner, narrowing his eyes playfully at his date. 

“Seriously shut up and start eating, philosophy and metaphors are banned dinner topics now.” 

They laugh, and they find there’s plenty else to talk about as the night grows long. 

* * *

Burnet collapses onto the couch next to Sun with a sigh, body melting into the cushions as she groans, “I’m beat.” 

Gladion sets down a fern in the corner of the lobby, raising a brow as he looks over at the couch. “You didn’t move anything.” 

“No, but we supervised,” Sun mumbles, not bothering to glance up from his phone. 

The vampire is scowling, Moon laughing at the sight as she sets down the coffee table in between the couch and two armchairs, looking around the newly repurposed wing of Aether Paradise. It’s a relatively small space, but with room to grow should they need it (and hopefully, in the years to come, they will). The lobby is brightly lit, with a simple entry and waiting area, the connecting small kitchen hidden from view, along with an office space and small training area. 

It might not have everything they need, but it’s a pleasing mix of blues and greens and feels like the right first step. 

“So it’s really happening.” Plumeria walks to stand beside Moon, the two grinning as the vampire continues with a chuckle, “We’re making ‘Slayer’ an actual career path?” 

“We’re doing a lot.” Moon crosses her arms, feeling her stomach turn with that now familiar mix of anticipation and anxiety. They’re setting up a hotline, and eventually holding workshops, and maybe they’re setting themselves up for failure, but they’re also setting themselves up as a community. 

“Hopefully a lot of good,” Lillie chimes in, Hau giving her a smile as the two walk in from the kitchen, having finished putting away the few supplies they have. 

A moment later, the door’s busting open, sounds from the rest of the first floor of Aether filling the room for a moment as two figures walk in. 

“Make way for the plaque!” Guzma calls with a grin, walking with their office’s official sign in both hands. He heads for the back wall of the lobby, Wicke following behind with a small smile. 

They watch as he hangs it up, gathering around as Guzma steps back to reveal a simple logo and clean font that proudly reads “Guardians of Alola.” 

Gladion lets out a sigh, a breathless chuckle soon to follow. “It’s official.” 

“We’re doing this,” Moon mumbles with a nod, reaching for his hand and smiling when he gives hers a squeeze as she adds, “Together.” 

The moment hangs with them, as they slowly realize saving the world was just the first step – now, they get to change it for the better. 

Burnet blinks, frowning and hesitant to break the quiet as she asks with a tilt of her head, “Hey, does anyone else think it’s...just a _little_ crooked?” 

The others glance at each other, then back at the sign, and also tilt their heads slightly to the right. 

“Hang on I got it.” Guzma steps back towards it, adjusting it slightly to the left before looking back at the group. 

Kukui shakes his head. “No, a little more.” 

So he moves it a little more to the left, only for Wicke to hum and bring a hand to her chin, mumbling, “Can you move it a little back to the right?” 

But even then, Plumeria frowns. “It’s still off.” 

“You wanna do it then?!” Guzma snaps, and it’s enough to get them all bickering about the plaque as the five others hang back, watching the chaos unfold and realizing this is what they’re in for, for who knows how long. 

And they smile at it, Hau looking at his best friends and saying, “At least we finally found a team name.” 

* * *

_ You’ll have to forgive my late response, Council, seeing as I recently died while saving the world. _

_ Now, in regards to your multiple complaints against me, I would like to raise three counterpoints: _

_ 1\. I saved the world from total destruction. _

_ 2\. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, I _ ** _died _ ** _for this cause and your stupid Council. _

_ 3\. And I did all that while you sat in a dusty room fretting over some rules made up hundreds of years ago by other weird men who felt comfortable sending out girls to fight the forces of darkness. _

_ So _ _ with all due respect, __bite me__. _

** _ Letter to the Council, written by Slayer Moon _ **

* * *

Hapu is a young girl from Poni who has a feeling she has a big problem on her hands. 

It’s late, far past midnight, and she half-expected Aether Paradise to be closed, but there was one receptionist in the lobby to point her down the hall to the door she needed. She hesitated outside of it, adjusting the straps of her overalls as she took a deep breath and opened the door, poking her head in. 

There’s a man lying on his back on the couch, and the hairs on the back of Hapu’s neck stand up as her mind hyper-focuses on him – he's not human, she just knows, feels a fight-or-flight response kick in that she’s quick to control because her grandma raised her better than to run or punch a stranger in the gut. 

“Pardon me, but is this the Guardians of Alola?” 

He’s up and walking towards her with a wide grin, his white hair a mess. He opens the door wider for her, gesturing with his other arm to the space as he rambles in a gravelly voice, “The one and only. What’s up? Demonic possession? Vampire not as cool as me got you down? Is it that weird witch cult by Poni? Because those guys say they aren’t a cult but I don’t know about–” 

“You’re gonna scare her off, Guz.” 

Another figure, also not human and setting Hapu’s new instincts alight, walks in from somewhere. She leans an elbow against the other vampire’s (at least, that’s the best guess Hapu has) shoulders, looking down at the girl with warm amber eyes, pink and blonde hair vibrant against her tan skin. There’s a tug of something, a sort of spark of kinship, and the older woman’s lips part. 

Hapu shakes her head, long braids following the movement. “Oh, no ma’am; it takes a little more than talking to shake me.” 

“I like you.” She grins, and an elongated canine appears, confirming Hapu’s suspicions. “I’m Plumeria, and this lug’s Guzma.” 

“Hapu.” She nods at both of them, face as serious as it always tends to look. 

“Come on in.” Guzma steps aside, gesturing for her to follow. Plumeria plops herself down on one of the armchairs across from a rather comfy-looking couch, but Hapu keeps her attention on Guzma as he asks over his shoulder, “Can I get ya anything? Water? Juice? Hot cocoa? I make a mean hot cocoa.” 

“I’ll take a hot cocoa please and thank you.” 

“Now you’re encouraging him,” Plumeria tuts, but the annoyance is gone the second Guzma flashes her a mischievous grin before disappearing past an entryway. As Hapu takes a seat on the couch, a little annoyed that she’s still too short for her feet to touch the ground despite a recent growth spurt, the vampire across from her asks, “So what seems to be the problem?” 

The teenager hesitates, one of her hands going to tug at the rough fabric of her overalls on her thigh. “I’m not too sure, but my grandmother thinks you all might know.” When Plumeria simply nods, waiting for her to go on, she begins to explain, “I woke up in a cold sweat, and then my body grew real warm, and I...I started glowing, I know that sounds crazy–” 

“Hapu, you’re talking to a vampire who was there for the apocalypse.” 

“Right. Well, then I got thrown clean across the room, and when I went to go tell my grandmother what just happened, I tore the bedroom door right off its hinges.” 

Plumeria blinks, and Hapu tries not to fidget in the silence. Then the vampire is smiling, chuckling with a knowing smile. 

“Well, congratulations.” She leans forward in her seat, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she drawls, “You’re a Slayer.” 

Though she nods, Hapu’s brows furrow, and she realizes she’s only heard the word in passing, along with a lot of others about the occult that have started floating around Alola that she’s still trying to learn. “And what does that mean, exactly?” 

“That depends on you.” 

Before she can ask anything else, Guzma is walking back into the lobby, two steaming mugs in hand. He holds one out to her, careful to pass it off without disturbing the mountain of whipped cream and marshmallows as Hapu gives him a small smile. “Thank you kindly.” 

He nods, going to stand behind Plumeria as he takes a sip from his mug, only to quickly pass it to the other vampire so she can steal some as well. Hapu takes a sip from her own mug, wiping away the whipped cream that gets on her nose afterwards. She can safely say that Guzma does in fact make a mean hot cocoa, but there are more important matters at hand and so she turns her attention back to Plumeria. 

“Slayers come from a long line of women who have been Chosen to fight against the forces of darkness, granted powers like strength, healing, and prophetic dreams.” Plumeria’s lips curl in disgust for a moment, and she sighs, “There’s this thing called the Council, but we don’t really bother with them when we have our own Professors.” 

Hapu nods, holding her mug on her lap as she thinks for a moment. She’s a girl of action, so she’s trying to find the most reasonable next step, and stumbles upon one. “All right...so then, I’ll be fighting alongside all of you?” 

The two vampires exchange a look, Plumeria giving her a quick once-over. “How old are you?” 

“Fourteen, ma’am.” 

“You ain’t fighting with us.” Guzma’s jaw tightens, his head shaking as he goes on to explain, “Listen kid, you might be great at it after some training, but you’re still a kid. Gotta graduate high school at least before we put you in that kind of danger.” 

It makes her puff her chest out for a moment, trying to gather her full height and keep her face serious as she takes another sip of hot cocoa and chews on a marshmallow. Hapu knows she’s mature for her age, and she’s used to helping out on the family ranch. 

Then she remembers that they aren’t talking about chores but fights against demons and other monsters, and she feels some of her bravado leave her. 

A corner of Plumeria’s lips quirk up at the sight, and she sits back. “You were Chosen, but you also get a choice. Guzma’s right – we're not letting you fight yet, but if you’d like, we’ll start training you whenever you have time, help you get a handle on your powers and learn more about the supernatural world.” 

“I sense an ‘or,’” the girl mumbles, looking between the two vampires. 

“Or, you can head home. If this isn’t what you had planned for your life, then don’t let it get in the way of it.” Plumeria’s face grows serious for a moment, and Guzma nods along with her words. “It’s a big decision to make, and one you shouldn’t make lightly.” 

Hapu looks down at the mug in her hands, humming in thought. She takes another sip of hot cocoa before looking around at the office, eyes settling on the two vampires before her. 

“I read a little about what y’all did to protect the world in the paper. How you’re looking to prevent fights when you can and fight the good fight when you can’t.” Her face cracks into a small smile, brows still knit together as she says with her head held high, “Maybe I’ll change my mind down the road, but it sounds an awful lot like what I want to do with my life.” 

Plumeria smiles and Guzma raises his mug, giving her a toothy grin. 

“Then welcome to the team, Hapu.” 

* * *

Gladion opens their apartment door, walking Silvally back inside on his leash and hanging up his keys, Moon following close behind with a smile. It’s been another successful evening walk, and she’s had to bite back laughter at Gladion cooing over how well-behaved and obedient Silvally is. 

“I think he’s earned a treat,” the vampire mumbles as he unleashes the dog, walking over to where they’ve set up a jar of treats on the kitchen counter. 

Moon giggles, watching as Silvally quickly follows behind and sits patiently, expectantly, as Gladion opens up the treat jar. “You’re spoiling him.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Definitely.” 

As he crouches down, his voice getting dangerously close to baby-talk as he praises Silvally, he doesn’t notice the Slayer sliding her phone out of her back pocket, the sound of her camera taking a picture only registering after Silvally’s happily trotting off with his treat to enjoy it by the couch. 

Gladion frowns, standing and watching her type on her phone. “Who are you sending that to?” 

“The group chat. I need everyone to know you’re actually a big softie.” She looks up at him with a smirk, and he scowls as he walks back towards her. 

It only adds insult to injury that she’s doing this while he’s specifically boycotting the group chat after Sun revealed the details of that stupid betting pool. Evidently, Hau had been the first to lose, since he’d put his money on something happening within the first month of Gladion and Moon meeting. Lillie had been a little too cautious, and said nothing would come of the pair until after the apocalypse was successfully averted. That left Sun to win, as he guessed the closest, off by a month but correct in his assertion that it would be terrible timing. 

Moon had been embarrassed but managed to have a laugh at it, while Gladion decided he wasn’t going to text any of them for at least a week, no matter how many stupid memes Hau and Sun made to target him. 

There were a lot. Moon’s saved the best ones to her phone. 

He sighs. “Why do you make it your mission to embarrass me?” 

“Because you’re cute when you’re flustered.” She gives him a grin, stepping forward to pull him down by the front of his shirt and give him a kiss, smiling as he melts into the embrace. His hands go to her waist and neck, tracing over the bandage from their last feeding as he cups her face. 

“Wait.” He blinks as she pulls back slightly, her eyes wide as she whispers, nearly horrified, “I just realized – you never got my stellar _The Bodyguard _reference.” 

Gladion’s brows furrow. “What?” 

She huffs, as if it’s completely obvious. “You know, that one time I called you the Kevin Costner to my Whitney Houston and you didn’t laugh even though it was hilarious?” 

“The fact that you remember that is impressive but terrifying.” 

“Because it deserved a laugh and didn’t get one, so now we’re watching _The Bodyguard_.” Before he can put up a fight (and he will, but a very half-hearted one because Silvally isn’t the only one in this apartment he spoils), she grabs his hand, leading him towards the couch with purpose. 

He raises a brow, groaning, “I’m not going to like it, am I?” 

She gives him a wicked grin over her shoulder. “Oh, you’re gonna _hate it.” _

Silvally sits up as they approach, but before they can reach the couch and turn on the television, a strange noise, something like a hissing screech but wet somehow, reverberates through the air. 

Moon turns, dropping his hand to give him a look, and they’re both going to the living room window, peering through the dark and spotting a creature giving off that same cry at the edge of the woods. Its head is reptilian but wrong, body of a dog but all sagging skin and jutting bones. 

“Gross,” the Slayer mumbles. 

Gladion hums, and then his voice is just a little too affected to be innocent. “Oh no, looks like we have to postpone the movie.” 

“You’re not getting out of it that easy.” She smirks, chuckling at his eyeroll before going to the box she keeps under the sink now, stopping to pull out a stake – it won’t be especially useful against a chupacabra, but at this point It's a trademark and comfort to have. Besides, Sun and Kukui will get here any minute, and they’ll bring something that can actually help. 

Silvally watches, walking towards the door as the vampire grabs his keys, giving the dog a smile as he leans down to pet him. “We’ll be right back.” 

Moon opens the front door, waiting patiently for her boyfriend as another monstrous shriek fills the air. Gladion fixes her with a smirk as he walks out, and she can’t help but stop him to wipe it off his lips with a kiss, leaving him breathless as she looks up at him with a wide smile. 

“Welcome to the new normal.” 

And they race down the stairs, ready to protect the imperfect world they love one more time (and every time).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first off, a big thank you to everyone who's been reading! it's always nice to know that people enjoy the stuff I put out and this was a bigger passion project of mine, so thank you for sticking with me <3
> 
> and second, this fic is done...but I might still play around in this universe because I'm attached and I intentionally left some fun things to play around with ;) no sequels, because this story has come to a close, but maybe some future oneshots further exploring the world (after all, there's a wedding to be had, a new Slayer to be trained, a very good dog to be pet, etc.)
> 
> thank you all again, and happy halloween <3


End file.
